


Dispositions

by Mysticmataki



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Alternate Universe - Daycare, Daycare, F/M, Inspired by poobirdy on tumblr and then the story took a life of its own, MC says f___ twice so language i guess, One is enthusiastic and kind, One is straightforward and disciplined, You can guess who’s who
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-27 14:11:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 30,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18740659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mysticmataki/pseuds/Mysticmataki
Summary: Vanderwood just wants to go to the daycare he works at, ensure that his class survives the day, make sure that the RFA doesn’t inspire another teacher to quit, and go home. When MC starts to work there he’s not convinced that she will be able to handle the rowdy RFA class room, but he’s not ready for all of the change she’s going to bring to his life.A Daycare AU.





	1. Chapter 1

With a long groan, Vanderwood rest his head on his steering wheel before looking back up at the daycare he was parked in front of. He had been gone only a week, his first vacation in several months, and in those 7 days all hell had broke loose. Upon checking his email the day before he went back, he found one from the director stating that yet another caretaker would be leaving and that another one who be coming in to replace her that next Tuesday, the day of Vanderwood’s return. He couldn’t help but feel that fate had saved him from the chaos of having to substitute… that class… but he also felt like it was a bit of a curse. Of course he’d have to train a new caretaker the second he got back from his time off. Finishing his last cigarette until he would walk out at the end of the day, he grabbed his bag and walked towards the center, getting in exactly an hour before they opened. He’d at least be able to drink his coffee in silence, gather any last minute items he might need for an activity that day, and gather his thoughts before stepping into the madness that was his classroom.

His kids weren’t the most… manageable but he was glad that his class was easy to contain. One of the children in his class, a quiet girl with bright blonde hair, was good at keeping everyone together, although he knew something was up when she had demanded that he and the rest of the school referred to their class as “Mint Eye”. He just sighed and agreed. This? This he could handle. The other workers found them unsettling and he was the only one who had the patience for the eccentric group, and at least it kept him far away from… them…

The “RFA” kids.

Ohhh that class was a whole other story. It was the middle of June, and this would be the ninth teacher hired for the class since January. No one was able to handle them, nothing could be done to stop their reign of terror. The six of them were the least sensible mix of kids at the daycare: 2 rich heirs who were attached at the hip, a red-headed trouble maker with no sense of mortality, a stunningly beautiful little boy that everyone fawned over, a timid girl who always was keeping herself busy with some random task, and the youngest, a boy who always wanted to play but had to follow someone. There was constant bickering, weird declarations (such as declaring they were to be called the “RFA”, whatever that meant, henceforth), and overall chaos coming from that room everyday, and even the most promising of employees found themselves out within a month.

He had been here for years and he thought it would never end.

Stepping into the employee lounge, he immediately froze when he saw a woman already there standing over the coffee pot, someone he did not recognize. Vanderwood knew everyone who came and went into this daycare, he watched them all like a hawk. She looked up when the door opened and broke into a bright smile, and while Vanderwood registered that she was saying something and walking towards him, he was completely taken aback by the fact that someone was there earlier than he was. “Sorry to startle you!” she said as she walked over, “You must be Vanderwood, everyone’s told me about you!” Hand held out for a handshake, she smiled again, “I’m _________! I’m joining today as the new caretaker for class 1-A.”

Of course, this had to have been the newest hire. Why in the world would anyone break into a daycare at 6 am to make a cup of coffee? He took her hand, a quick “Vanderwood, as you guessed,” muttered before he continued on his usual routine, walking towards the refrigerator. He definitely wasn’t used to talking to anyone for at least another 45 minutes. He heard _____’s feet shuffle behind him when he looked back at her, immediately feeling a pang of guilt before shaking his head. “Sorry, I’m not at all used to having anyone else be here at this time. It’s a little unsettling, to be honest, that you’re the first coworker I’ve ever seen here earlier than myself,” he apologized as he placed the lunch he probably wouldn’t get to eat in the fridge. Moving back to the table, he felt relieved to see that a small smile had overtaken the nervous look she was wearing a moment ago.

“The director told me that I would probably get to meet you if I came a little earlier, but truth be told I’m just a little nervous and had to come in early to settle down,” she said as she walked back over to the coffee maker and set the warmer on, the pot full, a nicer-than-usual aroma coming from it. She opened the cabinet where the mugs were and grabbed one for herself before looking at Vanderwood standing to the side and gestured to the pot, “You too?” He nodded, and she grabbed another one and put it on the counter for him smiling, “Sorry, but I don’t know how you take your coffee just yet. You’ll have to take over from here.”

He watched her as she made her coffee, extra milk and sugar, before pouring a cup and immediately moving to the table so he could scroll through his phone and just clear his head before the rest of day. Noting that he drank it black, _____ sat at the other side of the table and drank her’s as she shifted through some papers before her, 6 all laid out in a row. Vanderwood couldn’t help but look over at them and smirked when he saw the photos attached to each sheet. “Trying to memorize your new class before you meet them?” He asked, straight to the point.

_____ looked up, nodding as she tried to hide her blush by taking a sip of her coffee. “I’ve spent the past three days days going over them since I only got them on Friday. I was lucky they moved the kids to a spare room on Monday so I could reorganize it to my style and see if everything was set up for a child to learn,” she said, her mood perking up a bit at the prospect of maybe learning something about the kids from another teacher. The others had just laughed and walked off with a, “Good luck,” when she had asked.  
Vanderwood was surprised she had taken the initiative to do that instead of just taking whatever was there, but he still wasn’t sold. But she did have some potential, so it couldn’t hurt to throw a friendly warning her way.

“You are about to walk into a mini war zone. On paper they look perfect, but the 6 of them are the most unruly bunch you will ever encounter,” he said nonchalantly while her mouth dropped, shocked that he would talk about the children in that way. He continued with just as much ease, “I’m not sure if they’ve told you, but you’re the ninth person to enter that room this year. Those kids require the utmost supervision and they need someone who will truly be able to go in there and to be frank, tame them. If you’re here to have fun and play with some cute kids you’re in for a world of pain. My kids are weird, but your class, the “RFA”, they are on a whole new level of behavioral issues.”

He stopped when she broke out into a small laugh, finding himself annoyed at how she was seemingly brushing him off when he noticed her smile was back. “I was so shocked when you started talking about the children, but when you kept going I realized that you just really care for them. I’m happy that you’re genuinely concerned for them,” she said as she leaned onto the table, crossing her arms and smiling happily, honestly, at him.

Vanderwood looked away awkwardly as he looked back at his phone, a bit embarrassed at how she said it so candidly. Gulping down his coffee, he placed the cup on the table before looking back at her and shrugged, “I just need someone who will be good at their job so I can focus on just my class.”

“Okay Vanderwood, whatever you say,” _______ teased with a smile as she finished her coffee and stood up to get another one. Taking his cup in her hand she walked to the pot and looked back at him, looking back at him with such a gentle kindness that he felt a little uneasy and quickly asked, “If I get you another cup, could you give me some real insider tips? It looks like you know the kids pretty well.”

Not one to ever say more than was needed, Vanderwood found himself nodding, surprised that he actually wanted to converse with someone, let alone his newest coworker he’d only known for 15 minutes. He wasn’t expecting much- he’d seen the most experienced, hopeful, and enthusiastic people go in that room and come out later in distress, declaring they were done with child care once and for all- but there was something about her that seemed a bit different from the rest. They spent the rest of the morning talking about the dynamics of the class; who got along with who, who needed an eye on them at all times, the ones who were totally capable of staying alive, the usual, before they had about 15 minutes until the kids were going to arrive. Rinsing off their mugs in the sink, _____ handed them off to Vanderwood as they stood there in silence before both made their way to the door. Bumping hands as they reached for their aprons, _____ giggled as she handed him the purple one he had been reaching for which made him look away a bit exasperated. Walking to their rooms, the two stood at their doors for a moment before _____ spoke up.

“Thank you for letting me take over your morning, Vanderwood. I feel a lot calmer starting the day thanks to you,” she said with a smile, dipping her head in gratitude.

He wouldn’t admit to anything if you pressed him about it, but he gently smiled at her for a moment before he opened his door and gave her one last look. “If you need my help today, you know where to find me,” he said, expecting the day to go like all the other ones before.  
“I think I’ve got this under control, but I’ll definitely come to you if I need any help!” she said with a bright laugh as she opened the door and stepped into her room.

As he went into his own and opened up the blinds he couldn’t help but wonder what _______’s morning routine normally was, but quickly pushed that thought down when he looked out the window and saw a few cars begin to pull into the parking lot. Seeing the kids stumble out and towards the doors, he couldn’t help but laugh to himself, wondering at what time ______ would burst through his door, panicked and asking for his help.

To his shock, he didn’t hear from her all day.

Maybe she wasn’t just talk.


	2. Chapter 2

Vanderwood made damn sure that he got to the daycare early the next day.

By the time he had finished cleaning up his room the day before she was long gone, her room apparently spotless and everyone shocked at just how well she had done for her first day. The second that he entered the lounge to grab his bag the employees in there dropped their chattering, presumably about her, to hushed whispers. Not one for gossip, he left the daycare without saying a word and drove off, still honestly shocked that she hadn’t run to him for help and infinitely curious about how her day had been.

He arrived at his usual time and made his way to the lounge, wondering if she would be there already. Walking in, he saw that he was the first to arrive and without missing a beat continued on his morning routine, eventually turning his attention to the coffee pot. He opened the cabinet to find a bag of coffee that was never than the usual brands they stocked and he grabbed it, quickly prepping a pot and moving to the table as he waited for it to finish. A few minutes later the door swung wide open and he looked up to see _______ walking in, the same bright smile from the day before. “Vanderwood! I wanted to thank you yesterday but when I stopped by your room you weren’t there, we must have just missed each other,” she cheerfully as she put her things away and hung her coat up, finally sitting down at the table with him.

“Alright, what’s your secret __________,” he asked, realizing the coffee had finished brewing before he stood up and moved to the cabinet, pulling out two mugs and quickly pouring the coffee before he looked back at her and gestured for her to come over. She slid over to him and laughed as she quickly gave her thanks and made her coffee to her taste.

Moving back to the table he took a sip and looked at her pointedly, “I’m serious. You’re the first person who hasn’t run into my room crying for help in a long time.”

Sitting across from him she started, “Well, I won’t lie, they were very suspicious of me when they first came into the classroom. Luciel kept saying that he was running a background check on me as he followed me around and asked all sorts of questions as Jumin and Jihyun “conferred” over whether I was trustworthy or not. Jaehee was a little wary, but warmed up by the end of the day while Hyun and Yoosung were super affectionate from the beginning,” she laughed as she recalled the way the kids had initially regarded her with awe and confusion, as if they hadn’t met a new caretaker several times before. She placed her mug down and rested her chin in her hands, continuing, “But by lunch they seemed ready to trust me. I just spent the first part of the day letting them ask whatever they needed to to be comfortable with me, to realize that I was here to take care of them, but I was also be their friend. I think that made the difference.” 

Vanderwood sat there silently, taking in everything she was saying while sitting there and thinking, “Who is this woman”. The scenario she had described seemed a little more ridiculous than their normal introductions where they would immediately decide they could do better on their own and didn’t need anyone to take care of them. Most importantly though, he had never met anyone who spoke about those kids in such a level headed manner. “Well, I’m impressed Miss, you’ve done better than anyone else on their first day, I can’t deny that,” he replied, and the two of them spent the rest of their morning talking about their respective days before the time came for them to part at their own rooms. ________ gave him a smile and wished him a good day as he gave her a nod and the two parted once again.

The next few days followed the same pattern; they’d run into each other in the morning, share a cup of coffee, and say good bye before class started. She always rushed off quickly after work while he stayed longer to deep clean his room and their schedules never really seemed to sync up. She had heard whispers in the lounge about his class becoming more unruly over the past few days and he would sometimes hear the other employees musing about how she was still standing, but everything was going along so easily for her that he couldn’t help but worry that the kids were planning something behind her back. He didn’t have a thing to worry about though, _______ loved the kids and the kids loved her.

———

“Miss ___________!! Look at how high I can swing! I’m gonna touch the stars!!”

Standing up from her place in the sandbox with Jaehee and Hyun, ________ looked over at the swing set and flashed a thumbs up to her troublemaker Seven as he pumped his legs as hard as he could. “You’re doing great! But please don’t jump, I’d be so worried about you!” she called out as he nodded rapidly. Sitting on the other swing was Yoosung, younger than all the others but always trying to copy them in some way. She walked behind him, quickly gave his swing a small push and encouraged him to mimic Seven’s movements, him nodding with an enthusiastic “Yes!” as he kicked his legs. From this angle she could see all the kids, quickly checking that V and Jumin were still sitting on the see-saw deep in conversation. It was the end of the week and _______ wanted them to have a little extended playtime before the weekend. The kids had accepted her by the fourth day, and were actually trying to get her involved in everything that they did, constantly fighting for her attention. She was quick to realize that these kids never had anyone in their life who fully accepted them, or let them be themselves before, and it broke her heart.

Maybe it was fate that led her to this class, to these angels in need of some guidance.

“Wowww, hi Miss Mary!” she heard Seven yell out as the door of the daycare opened. She panicked for a moment, wondering if she really forgot that she had a coworker named Mary but when she turned to the door and saw Vanderwood holding it open, his kids tumbling out she became even more confused. Wait, she had only been introduced to him as “Vanderwood”, but his name couldn’t be Mary, right?

Vanderwood looked up the second he heard Seven and grimaced, causing _______ to laugh. “Oh, Seven, that’s Vanderwood. You should call him by his real name, it looks like he doesn’t like the name you just called him very much,” she said as Seven stopped swinging and ran to her side. She waved to Vanderwood and smiled as she saw all of his kids go and start to roam the playground. “Alright, RFA! It’s time to get back to the classroom, it’s Mint Eye’s time to use the playground!” she said as she clasped her hands together and the kids immediately turned to her, eyes bright.

Vanderwood shook his head as he walked towards her, “No need, it’s almost the end of the day anyways.” While that was true, he also was doing this purely of self-interest; he had to see how she was able to manage her class.

“Oh, well Vanderwood is nice enough to let us stay outside! You should go and play with the other kids,” she said as they nodded. As they wandered off she mouthed “thank you” to him before taking a look around the playground. They stood side by side for a moment before she pointed out to his kids, “Alright, now it’s time for you to give me a rundown on your own classroom! I have no idea who’s who.”

Vanderwood looked back out and quickly gave a rundown of his class before stopping when he gestured to the blonde girl in his class, Rika. 

“That’s Rika, she’s even more of the leader of the room than I am. The kids will listen to anything that she says, it’s pretty disconcerting. She also is the one who dubbed us, “Mint Eye”, so that says all you need to know about her,” he said as he scanned the playground. _____ smiled as she looked at the girl who really was leading the kids around, noticing that Yoosung had immediately run to her side. Vanderwood was right that he was attached to his cousin.

“She’s quite influential,” ______ joked as she saw that even V and Jumin were heading over to talk to her.

“Who knows if that’s a good thing,” Vanderwood muttered as he spotted his last kid. He tapped _____ on the shoulder who turned to see a small pink haired boy sitting at the lunch table by himself. “That’s Saeran, he’s the most dedicated to Rika, but he also really likes to be alone. He’s been here for awhile, but he’s incredibly reserved and a lot of the other employees here call him “Unknown”.”  
“That’s awful!” ______ declared, her arms crossed tight in anger.

“Awful, but unfortunately it’s true,” he shrugged back.

As she looked at the young boy, she tilted her head to the side, slightly puzzled. Dropping her voice, she asked, “Are him and Saeyoung related?”

Vanderwood looked at her and smirked lightly, “We have our suspicions, but at the same time they never interact so who even knows. Nothing connects them on paper either.”

She looked back out and sighed before looking back to check on her kids, “I doubt Seven would tell me anything like that, he hates to talk about himself.”

Vanderwood rose an eyebrow, impressed that she had picked up on that already. It had taken him a few months to even begin to understand the kid, and here she was picking up on one of his insecurities in 4 days, immediately realizing there was something behind that joking facade. They stood there in silence for awhile, “It looks like I was wrong, _________,” he said out of nowhere, surprising her as she turned to him with a quizzical look on her face. He turned and gave her a genuine smile, quietly saying, “You are far and away the most qualified person to care for these kids. They’re lucky to have you.”

________ blushed but smiled back at him, quickly saying, “Thank you! But I’m the lucky one! They’re absolute angels.” She turned back to her kids composed, calling out that it was time to go back in. There were some groans but they immediately ran to her side. She started walked in towards the door as they fought over who got to hold her hand, leading them inside before waving to Vanderwood and closing the door.

He would have sworn on his life that the 6 kids had given him the deadliest glares for a second before the door clicked shut.


	3. Chapter 3

“They’re hosting a what?”

“Parents Night, so they can come in and meet the caretakers.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Well, I guess some parents want to meet _______, so the director decided to have everyone participate.”

“So we have extra work just cause some parents are too busy to meet her at the end of the day? Ugh.”

The complaining seemed relentless the few days after the director had called everyone in for an employee’s meeting. With a wide smile, she had announced that there had been a rise in interest from the parents of some children to meet their caretaker, and that she would have everyone participate, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Everyone immediately knew that the only parents who would even care to do so were the parent’s of ______’s kids, and she had been the brunt of some unfounded resentment from that. She had insisted she just host a night herself behind closed doors, but the director had laughed and said that everyone needed to prepare their rooms for an hour long event later that Friday.

Vanderwood wasn’t necessarily happy, but he knew that this was no fault of ______’s; she was just that good at her job. Over the past month not only her class, but the daycare itself had transformed. People got in a little earlier, rooms were cleaner, and there was an overall sense of light competition over who had the “best” class. He knew that this was all due to her influence. Years of coworkers, kids, parents coming in and out and it had never been this bright. And even though people were complaining, there was a sense of excitement in the air. It was just another way to show off to the majority of them.

Friday rolled around and the rest of the school was in a panic. Everything had to be just right, the place had to be spotless, and you could tell some people were doing their first deep clean in awhile. Vanderwood’s room was always spotless- it was a bit of a running joke at the center- and while he had taken the time to tidy up and make sure everything was in it’s place, he found himself leaving earlier than the others. Stepping out of his room and locking it, he rolled his eyes as he watched the person in the room across furiously vacuum and still cause dust to fly. 

“Disgusting…” he muttered as he looked up to see that ________ was locking up her own room. “Look at us, leaving at the same time for once,” he said as they both made their way to the parking lot.

She looked over with a grin and nodded, “Looks like you decided to pull back on the cleaning for once.”

He smiled faintly at the gentle tease before he quickly walked ahead to hold the door open for her with a quiet, “After you.” She smiled in thanks as she quickly passed him and kept walking, turning back around and giving a quick wave.

“See you tonight, Vanderwood!” she exclaimed as he got into his car and she walked past him. He rose a hand in response and she smiled, walking through the gates of the daycare.

Hours later, the daycare was once again bustling as people ran in and out of classrooms, borrowing tape, staplers, anything needed from each other as they finalized their rooms, lined up food and drink for the parents and kids that would come, and overall just panicking at the fact that their first open house was happening in minutes. Everyone seemed to be in a relatively good mood, but there still was a certain level of stress among everyone. Especially ________.

Her door was closed when Vanderwood strolled in, surprising him as she was normally among the first people to arrive. A coworker quickly walked past him, looking back over her shoulder, muttering, “She’s still locked up in there?” before shaking her head and making her way back to her room. Raising an eyebrow, Vanderwood walked back to his room, did a final sweep and sat down, wondering if he should go to her room before backing out.

______ was pacing around her own room, trying to calm herself by doing something, ANYTHING that would get her mind off of the parents about to come. Without an idea of what to do, she found herself walking to Vanderwood’s room before walking in and saw him sitting at his desk, scrolling through his phone with a bored look on his face.

“Hi,” she said quietly as she walked in, and his head shot up and he almost felt his heart stop as he looked at her. She was in nothing like her usual outfit of jeans and a shirt of some kind, standing there in a form fitting black sheath dress and low black heels. Like the first time they met, he registered that she was walking towards him and talking, but he had to shake his head once to get his thoughts together as she sat next to him. “Sorry, can I hang out with you before they start to arrive? I’m about to throw up from nerves,” she said with a self deprecating laugh. 

“What do you have to be worried about? You’re the reason this is happening,” he said matter of factly.

“Exactly!” She exclaimed, leaning on her elbows across the desk from him and sighing. “You guys all said the kids were a lot to handle, no one ever told me I’d have to entertain the parents! You warned me about Jumin but there was no way to know I’d be meeting the Chairman of C&R!”

Vanderwood laughed and she looked back at him confused, obviously in distress about the current situation. “It’s amazing that the parents wanted to meet you this much. You don’t give yourself enough credit, you’ve seriously changed this place,” he said with a smile and she looked away, a small blush on her face.

“You’re not supposed to say something so nice, you’re supposed to tell me to man up! Or give me some lecture about something like you always do!” She huffed, standing up before walking back to the door and turning back, the blush still on her cheeks, “But um, thanks. I hope you have a good evening!”

“I doubt any one of my kids’ parents will come. Maybe I’ll stop by and see how you’re handling the pressure of impressing the parents,” he said as he stood up and she smiled once more. He also was more dressed up than usual in black slacks and a purple button down, black tie around his neck in an intricate knot, and she was surprised at just how… elegant he looked outside his usual casual attire.

“Well, you’re always welcome,” she said when she turned and walked back to her room, the parents minutes away from coming in for the initial gathering with the director. Moments later, headlights started to appear in the parking lot, and nearly every caretaker took one final breath. It was time to shine.

It was forty-five minutes into the evening and not a single person had stopped by Vanderwood’s room. That was fine by him, as he hated small talk with anyone, and especially hated having any sort of attention directed towards him, but he was getting increasingly bored. Deciding no one was going to stop by, he found himself becoming more curious about what was happening in the room over. He had heard several loud voices clamoring over the other when the kids and their parents had first rolled in and while things had settled down, he would randomly hear one of them call out to her, and he knew it had to be tough trying to manage these kids who were already always fighting for her attention with each other and now were finding themselves up against their parents.

Curious, he walked over and leaned in the doorway as he saw _______ standing in a circle with the parents having a pleasant chat, holding her own even as she stood amongst such a conservative group. He couldn’t help but feel proud, and gave a small smile when he felt a tug on his leg and looked down to see Hyun, or rather, Zen as he asked to be called now glaring up at him. “What are you doing here?” the beautiful little boy asked with a look of pure suspicion.

“Hello Zen. No one was in my room so I decided to stop by and see how the RFA was doing,” he replied, a little uncomfortable by the way the boy was staring up at him.

“Are you sure that’s why?” A sharp voice said as he looked over to his other side and saw Jumin standing there with his arms crossed, the look on his face just as dubious as Zen’s.

“What’s this?” ______ said as she looked over the shoulder of one of the parents and smiled brightly upon realizing who was there. “Ah, Vanderwood!” She exclaimed, quickly introducing him to the parents, Yoosung’s parents thanking him for taking care of Rika which made him to be a little embarrassed, thanking them before shaking the hands of the others. “Do you think you could do me a favor and play with the RFA while I chat? It’s much safer if they have someone watching over them,” _____ asked and he couldn’t say no. The parents smiled at both of them, the elite Kim and Han nodding in satisfaction as he quickly agreed to and moved over to the kids who were now playing in the corner.

Getting down to eye level with them, he was immediately met with glares from every kid who was there, Seven the only one missing. “Alright, what’s going on?” he said, dropping his voice so the parents wouldn’t hear.

Yoosung was the first one to speak out, whispering back to him, “Really, Miss Vandy, why are you here?”

Vanderwood sat there, expression blank as he was called yet another of his hated nicknames, trying to hide his obvious annoyance, “I told you, no one was at my room so I decided to come over and say hi to you guys.”

“Vandy,” Jaehee spoke up, her little hands in fists as she stared up at him, “you never visited this room before _______ was here.”

“Oh?” Vanderwood responded, a little surprised at how the kids were ganging up on him. “You know that’s a lie, I was in and out of your room all the time before she came here. I’m actually never here now, you should know that,” he countered, trying to keep his calm.

Even Jihyun, the calm level headed one in the group spoke up, “Yes, but you never talked to our other caretakers, you usually just yelled at them. Vandy, you’ve never been this… nice.” The kids and him found themselves in a stare-off. The minutes seemed to drag as they went on playing with themselves, tossing him dirty looks from time to time as they looked over at ______ full of adoration when they heard her say their name.

“These kids are the devil…” he thought to himself as he followed their gaze and looked back over at _______. She was standing there proudly, having nothing but wonderful things to say about the kids as the parents threw question after question at her. She had been nervous before, but looking at her now you wouldn’t know, smile on her face, moving from conversation to conversation with ease and always taking the time to throw the kids a smile, the five of them gazing at her with smiles even wider when she did so.  
The influence she had over them was beyond impressive.

As the night came to an end, the kids ran to _______ and clung to her legs as their parents tried to gather them up. They all refused to leave, saying that they wanted to stay and play with ______ since they didn’t get to that night. She leaned over and gave each one of them a hug as she played with their hair or straightened out their clothes, promising that they would be able to play all next week and that they had to go home and get to sleep now so they could have the energy to do so. Every kid nodded, eyes shining bright as they grabbed onto the hands of their parents and started to walk out.

Zen and his parents were the last to leave, and when he passed Vanderwood he turned back and his eyes narrowed as he walked by, leaving Vanderwood with a look of shock on his face for a moment before it fell back to it’s usual stoic nature.

_______ stood at her door, gave a final wave, and turned back as it shut behind her, letting out a large sigh. “Wow, I’m beat,” she said as she looked at Vanderwood with gratitude. “Thanks for playing with them, they just weren’t leaving us alone,” she said with a final sigh as she ran her hands through her hair.

He still couldn’t believe he was threatened by the kids, but ______ stood before him with such a kind look on his face that he forgot all about that as he stared at her. “Good work tonight. Let’s get a drink to celebrate,” he said abruptly.  
“What?” She asked, unable to hide her genuine surprise.

“I invited you out for a drink,” he said, a small smirk on his lips. “You should feel honored, I normally don’t hang out with coworkers outside of work.”

A wide grin grew across ______’s face as she rolled her eyes and said in an over-exaggerated voice, “Howww could I turn you down then?” Laughing, she grabbed her purse and threw it over she shoulder, walking past him as he held the door open for her, going back to his room to grab his keys and lock up.

He paused for a moment as he grabbed his keys and jacket, taking a moment to realize what he had just done. How was he able to ask her so easily?  
At the same time _______ stood out in the hall, nervously looking down at her feet. Why had she been so happy when he asked?


	4. Chapter 4

The bar he had brought her to was off of a dark street and below ground level- not the usual place you would take a coworker for a casual drink. He had walked down the stairs to the dark door and she didn’t even question it, eyeing it excitedly. As he opened the door a small bell jingled from above and the bartender looked up and smiled at them, Vanderwood nodding to him before directing _______ to a booth in the corner. As she sunk into the leather he went and hung their jackets up by the door before going over to the bartender, laughing with him and shaking his hand. She realized she had never seen him look so open and she gazed at him softly as she watched him casually chat before walking back towards her. He sat in the seat across from her when the bartender came up just as quickly.

“Welcome, miss, to Audire,” the older man said as he placed some menus in front of them and then placed an ashtray on the table next to Vanderwood.

“Oh, umm,” Vanderwood quickly pushed the ashtray back, shaking his head until ______ laughed and put a hand up to stop the bartender from taking it.

“You can smoke,” she said as she leaned forward and shrugged, “It doesn’t bother me at all.” He went to insist that he didn’t need it but she just shook her head again, turning to the bartender and laughing as he handed her a menu, “Is he always this stubborn?”

“Oh, if you have to ask you don’t know,” the man said with a chuckle as he handed a scowling Vanderwood another drink list before walking back to the bar.

The two fell silent for a moment before ______ looked up from the menu she was looking at to see Vanderwood appraising the wine list with a critical eye as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Without removing his eyes from the menu he pulled one out, brought it to his lips and lit it all in one smooth motion. It looked so effortless, so refined for someone who was so… crass. He looked up from the menu to find her staring at him and he looked away awkwardly, taking a drag while turning the menu to her. “This place is known for their cocktails, but they also have a really impressive wine list, if that interests you,” he said as he brought the ashtray to his side.  
“Well, what’s your usual drink?” she asked.

“My drink?” he responded quizzically as he ashed his cigarette.

“Yeah, your drink. What’s your go-to after work, when you’re out, etc., etc.” she said as she gestured mindlessly, “You’re obviously a regular here, so you must have some suggestion.” Vanderwood looked to the side as if he was holding back from saying something, and she leaned in even more, faint smile on her lips as she prodded him for more information, “Wellll?”

He leaned back in the booth and exhaled sharply, the smoke drifting off as he once again diverted his eyes from hers. The bar was dark but she would have sworn he looked the slightest bit self conscious as he muttered, “I drink wine…”

“Wine? Not what I was expecting but ok!” She said with a snap of her fingers.

“Ah, no! I just was letting you know, you don’t have to have the same thing,” he said a little loudly as the bartender walked back over with a laugh.

“That’s my go-to also, so don’t worry so much Vanderwood,” she replied as she quickly scanned the list.

The bartender looked to Vanderwood who gave an exaggerated sigh as the man laughed at him. “You too now?” He groaned.

“You don’t bring guests here, it’s rather amusing to an old man like me,” he said as ______ looked up at him. She quickly glanced at Vanderwood who was looking more and more flustered by the moment, as if he really didn’t know what to do in this situation. She smiled as the bartender just laughed and took their menus away, a simple, “I’ll take care of this,” said as he walked away.

Turning back to Vanderwood, the two sat in silence another minute when the bartender came back with a bottle and 2 glasses, opening it and pouring a small sip for the both of them. ______’s face brightened as she swirled it once and took a small taste before she looked back to the bartender, quickly asking him some questions about the wine as Vanderwood finished his cigarette and took a sip from his own. It was one of his favorites, a vintage Bordeaux, always preferring a glass of the darkest red wine to any other alcohol out there, and he was impressed that she had at least some knowledge of wine. The bartender gave a small bow before he waked back to his place behind the bar, and when he was satisfied with the distance, Vanderwood held his glass out to her. “To your first month,” he said, offering her a rare smile.

She brought her glass to his and with a small ‘clink’ she whispered, “Thank you.” Most of the time this was just an automatic response, almost like a non-answer with how often and how off-handedly it was said. _______ was unable to hide what she was feeling though, and the way she had looked at him when she said it, so genuine and unselfish… he almost found himself getting jealous of the kids in her class who always got to see it.

Upon realizing that he was legitimately contemplating how jealous he was of the RFA he took a strong gulp of his wine before running a hand through his hair, desperate to think of anything else. “What made you go into childcare?” He asked quickly, really needing to think, to focus, on something other than that.

While she had been enjoying the ambiance of the place, she immediately perked up and answered almost just as quickly as he had asked, “I absolutely love kids. Always have. I started babysitting back when I was a kid myself and I realized that I didn’t want to do anything else. It’s just… rewarding. I love being there for them in such an important stage of their lives, when they’re learning how to socialize and how to act towards others. I just hope to be a positive influence in their lives.” She paused to drink her wine before continuing with a shrug, “Not every child is fortunate enough to have a good home- someone out there has to care for them.”

“That’s very altruistic of you,” He muttered, bringing the glass to his lips when she just shrugged.

“I don’t think so at all. I think it’s natural to want to help others, to want to ensure that they are sent up to be as successful as they can. I mean…” she trailed off, gathering her thoughts before continuing, “Like, Hyun, I mean, Zen’s parents. His mom kept saying his looks were nothing to be proud of and yah, they’re not important in the grand scheme of things, but he’s not ugly like she implied! That’s so harmful for a child to hear! And his father just let her say those things! Jaehee’s aunt and uncle seemed interested in me, but completely disinterested in her and her progress. I want the kids to know that when they comes to my room that they’re safe and can be themselves, I want all of my kids to know that.” She finished far more passionately, her eyes darkening a bit when talking about the shortcomings of the guardians of her class. She was forceful with her words, her usually calm and kind demeanor overtaken by a passion he hadn’t seen before.

It was quiet for a moment before he nodded, “Your heart’s definitely in the right place.”

______ furiously blushed, taking to hide it as she took another drink. “I guess I got pretty self-righteous there,” she said with an awkward laugh, running her hand through her hair once as she looked away.

“Not at all, you’re dedication to the kids is admirable. I’ve honestly never seen anyone with such a strong sense of responsibility that extends beyond the usual “Can I keep them alive the time they’re in this room” the others seem to have,” Vanderwood said bluntly, mindlessly swirling the wine around before taking a large gulp.

“Well, I think the other caretakers do care for their kids, but I think a lot of them got into this career cause it’s supposed to be “easy”. I guess I can see how my class could have been unmanageable for most people, especially if they just focus on who the kids are, not what they can do. Jumin and Jihyun are corporate heirs, and I mean heirs, they’ll never have to work a day in their lives if they choose. Hyun is stunning, it’s sometimes distracting. Seven doesn’t think he will die or is totally fine with it, and either way that’s terrifying to see manifested in someone so young,” she took an equally large gulp as she paused to catch her breath. “Don’t get me started on Yoosung, he’s so… dependent, and while I can see his family loves him with all their hearts you almost worry that he isn’t being given enough room to figure out who he is. Jaehee too, what does she even want? She’s a child yet acts like a mini adult, even more than Jumin…”

She trailed off as she stared at her glass, deep in thought. Vanderwood took this moment to grab the bottle of wine and top off both of their glasses, and when he corked it again he laughed. It was faint, barely detectable over the soft jazz playing in the bar, but she had heard it loud and clear. “I wasn’t expecting an outburst like that from you, but I can’t say that you’re wrong,” he said with a shrug as they both picked up their glasses and drank healthily.

“What about you, Vanderwood?” She now asked.

“Ah, it’s nothing interesting,” He muttered, trying to deflect the conversation from himself.

“No, no, I’m not letting you get away from this! Why did you start working at a daycare? You’ve been at ours for years so you obviously don’t dislike it,” she leaned in, her eyes wide and curious.

Sighing, he pulled out another cigarette and used the time lighting it to figure out how he’d respond. How did he get into this? It wasn’t like it was the first time he had been asked, everyone did. They were always curious as to how and more importantly why he had ended up as a caretaker at a daycare. There was always something; he was too gruff, too short tempered, too… neat, that people wondered why he would even enter a field that would require a soft touch and the ability to tolerate a mess. He would usually give a canned response, but she had been honest with him and he had to be honest with her in return. Exhaling a large cone of smoked, he looked up before speaking, “I guess it’s similar to your reason, at the heart of it. We probably came to the same conclusion through different means, but I think that kids need both guidance and discipline, and they don’t necessarily always get the two. You might find a kid has all the support in the world but they don’t know what to do with it, they just kind of wander around without any real direction. And the opposite can be said, there could be a child who knows nothing but discipline, nothing but restraint, and they don’t know what they are capable of. They need someone who will give them both.”

He was quick and curt, a look of disinterest on his face as he spoke but at the end she saw it, she saw his gaze harden when talking about the children who knew nothing but what they were allowed to do, the children whose walls were built by their guardians who didn’t think of the child and their growth themselves. “I think you’re right…” she said, swirling the wine around in her glass as she leaned forward, “There are so many children out there who know nothing but hardship. It’s easy to be minimally involved in their lives, to just have the mentality of, “I am their caretaker for the next 8 hours and nothing more,” but it takes a special person to think beyond that, and to think of what the kids needs on a much deeper level. Your kids are so lucky to have you.”

She smiled as she finished, downing the rest of her glass of wine before she looked up at him with a faint flush on her cheeks. He mimicked her actions to hide his own embarrassment at how honest his answer had been, how easily it had been to talk to her. “They aren’t lucky…” he muttered as he placed his now empty glass on the table, watching __________ as she reached for the wine and poured the final glass for the two of them.

“That’s a lie, and I won’t let you downplay your work. Those kids respect you, even Rika does, and you’re the only one who really knows what to do when they severely act out. I’m constantly impressed by you,” ______ said as she pushed his glass towards him.

Picking the glass up off of the table, Vanderwood looked back at her and for the first time in a long time, he felt seen. __________ was smiling at him gently, nothing about her suggesting that she was even close to lying when she said those things, those sweet, generous compliments. It was deeply unsettling, but he couldn’t help but feel… better… when he looked at her. “‘Constantly impressed’, that’s a new one,” he replied before he looked back to her and gave her a full smile in return, causing her to pause as she brought her glass to her lips. It was the first time he had genuinely smiled at her, and the first genuine smile she could remember from him in general, and she couldn’t help but feel like she was very privileged to see it.

“Well, don’t let it go to your head,” she quickly returned, both of them breaking into a laugh as the wine started to hit them.

“Well, it looks like you two went through this fast, hmm?” The bartender said with a smile as he snuck into the conversation to grab the bottle.

________ turned red at the realization of how fast they had drank when Vanderwood wove his hand, a little annoyed by the interruption, “Ahhhh we’ve had a long day. Let us relax.”

“Well then, would you like something more?” He asked the two with a shrewd smile, both of them looking to the other with a shrug, neither really wanting the night to end.

———

A couple of hours later the two of them were stumbling out of the bar, cheeks red, eyes glassy, and abdomens sore from laughing so much. Laughing at stories of the kids, stories from _________’s childhood, all of these random anecdotes she had that he listened to voraciously. She had picked up that he wasn’t ready to talk about himself just yet, but she didn’t mind, he was awkward and overly critical of himself but he still actively listened and joked and she couldn’t believe that the “Scary Vanderwood” she had been warned about only a month before was the same person that she had hung out with over the past few hours.

“Sorry I got drunk and can’t drive you home,” he said as he pulled his coat around his shoulders, looking down the road in hopes that a random taxi would drive by.

“Ahhhhhh that’s ok,” she said as she walked slowly beside him, “I’m just glad you didn’t insist that you could drive.”  
“Well, that would be irresponsible and as you know, I am anything but,” he laughed as she groaned beside him.  
“Yes, Vandermom,” She sniggered as he looked down at her, looking at her as if she had betrayed him.

“Oh no, not you too,” his face fell as she continued to laugh at the newest nickname the kids had given him.

She finally stopped laughing and looked up at him with a wide grin, “This is your best nickname though! It’s super cute, I think it suits you.”  
Vanderwood stumbled and she started laughing again. “Cute?! No way, that nickname is not cute, none of them are, Vanderwood isn’t a cute nickname either!”

_________ stopped dead in her tracks, a look of pure confusion on her face as she drunkenly processed what he had just said. “Vanderwood isn’t even your name?!” She proclaimed loudly seconds later, and Vanderwood couldn’t help but groan at his drunken confession.

“Yah, it’s not my real name,” he said a bit frustratedly, angry that he would let something like that slip.

________ was silent a moment more before shrugging and continuing to walk, turning to him with a small smile, “Well, it did throw me off the first time I heard it. Never figured it wasn’t your name though… why do people call you that?!”

He paused and looked away, muttering, “I’m not really ready to talk about this… it doesn’t matter.” He felt guilty, immensely guilty that he would give _________ a small glimpse into his life and had to refuse. He shouldn’t divulge anything more. Revealing to your new coworker that the name they had been calling you for a month wasn’t your name was a lot more stressful than he could have ever imagined.  
It was silent for a moment as they began to walk along before she quietly asked, “Is there anything you’d like to be called?”  
He fell silent again before he muttered even quieter before, “Stark…”

“What?”

“Stark! I’d prefer to be called Stark!” He admitted a bit louder and more panicked than he would have ever wanted to be in front of her.  
She looked at him surprised again before she smiled and nodded her head once, “Ok then. I can call you that.”

“Oh no, you don’t have to call me-” he started before she cut him off.

“Nope! If you prefer that I’ll use it. I think it suits you to be honest,” she said, truly meaning it. They walked along before she spoke up again, “If I may ask, why that name?”

Vanderwood looked bashful for a moment before he awkwardly responded, “It’s cool…”

_________ wanted to laugh. The way that he had looked away, so quickly, so embarrassed… it was unlike anything she had seen from him before. Sure he had been a bit stressed, a bit exasperated, but never had he looked so… approachable. The smile stayed on her face as they continued to aimlessly walk as she spoke up again, “So… do you want me to call you Stark?”

He froze upon hearing her say that. The way it fell from her lips, the way she said it so naturally, it was beautiful to him. She stopped a few steps ahead of him and turned, softly looking back at him, her face hiding nothing, a trusting look in her eyes that shook him to his core. Vanderwood didn’t get close to anyone, “occupational hazard” he would joke, letting everyone call him ‘Vanderwood’ as an easy way to avoid getting too deeply connected. But he didn’t want to hide, not from her, someone so honest, so accepting.  
“Yes,” he said, looking at her determinedly, his eyes never straying from hers.

She broke out into a grin and nodded, “Well c’mon Stark! It’s cold and you’re supposed to help me get home.” She was truly happy that he had decided to open up to her in a manner so personal. A name held a lot of weight. Look at her children- Seven, a boy with no set identity, Zen, obviously trying to distance himself from his family, and Saeran, the boy who didn’t care what you called him, Ray, Unknown, whatever, as long as he was “good”. A name was a powerful thing, it forced you to be connected to something. And she was glad he shared it with him.

He walked quickly to catch up with her and the two fell in stride once again. Looking at her, so pretty in her dress, that wickedly dazzling smile, bright eyes… he reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. She had straightened up a bit before relaxing into his arm, never missing a step. He knew then that he was in trouble, he couldn’t use the excuse of being drunk for touching her, he simply just… needed too. “Don’t call me that in front of the kids though. This is our thing, ok?” He said out of nowhere pulling her a little closer as he spoke, wanting to savor this moment. He dropped his arm and immediately reached for a cigarette to calm his nerves after she had nodded.

“Ok, I can do that,” she agreed as he took a long drag. “Can I ask you another question though, Stark?” She asked, a mischievous look appearing on her face.

Calmer now that he was smoking a cigarette, he shrugged, “I’ll allow it.”

“What’s with the cheetah print?” She said, pointing at the lining of his jacket.

Vanderwood immediately turned red, completely thrown off and unable to hide his cool at this point. He started lecturing her in the street as she doubled over laughing at his panic, both full of joy as he stomped off and she chased after him. Both were already looking forward to seeing each other at work on Monday.


	5. Chapter 5

Stuffed animals, baked goods, handwritten notes, handmade trinkets, drawings of them together, and fancy teaching supplies- ________ had received these gifts daily starting the week after the open house. The Monday after she was surprised to find a small robotic dog on her desk after recess. It had red hearts for eyes that would light up and a tail that wagged back and forth when she talked to it, and she was awed by the craftsmanship. She also wondered when someone could have put this there, and more importantly who it could have been. It wasn’t until that Thursday when she finally figured it out when Zen called her over to the play castle and then began to sing a song about how amazing she was.

Of course. Of course they were from her kids.

The next day Jaehee had brought her some muffins, apologizing for not giving them to her sooner as she had spent the week perfecting the recipe. When __________ gave her a hug and said they’d have to share one at snack time Jaehee had wrapped her arms around her as tight as possible before running off, her cheeks flushed pink. After school that day Vanderwood caught her in the break room with the basket, sarcastically remarking that she should have left them out at the beginning of the day fo people to eat. She immediately began relaying the events of the past week as he sat there listening in silence, a bit dumbfounded by the sheer grandiose of their actions.

Even some of the kids in his own class, mainly Saeran and Rika, were finding themselves more and more enamored with her over the months. Saeran seemed to have so many different sides to him, but all of them seemed to be drawn to her, yearning for her in some sense. He always wanted to be good, and it seemed that he had decided she was the epitome of it, of love and acceptance. Even though he wasn’t in her class she always had a large smile and a quick hug ready whenever he approached her, and he loved to tell her about all the flowers he’d grow for her. Rika was more… awed by her than anything, wondering exactly what it was that everyone else saw in her. She’d constantly watch her from afar, always asking Saeran to tell her all about her but never going over and fully spending time with her.

Vanderwood was surprised at what the kids were doing, but he wasn’t at all surprised by why they were going above and beyond; ________ was truly something else. As the weeks went by they found themselves getting to know each other a bit better, and even the other adults at the school were surprised at his willingness to get close to another teacher. Every person that came in before her had been met with a callous stare and a sarcastic comment about their style, but he never said a word about her to anyone else, and if he heard anyone speaking negatively about her they were the ones met with the dark glare.

And out of all the surprises that came from her hiring _that_ was the greatest of them all.

Summer came to a close and the weather cooled down, but that didn’t mean that the rain was stopping anytime soon. While it usually slowed down near the end of August the monsoon season seemed like it would never end, and the kids were getting rowdier by the day. A day without recess outside? That was acceptable. A week? A teacher’s worst nightmare. After a particularly stressful week where every kid seemed to be going stir crazy (the fact that the rain had stopped that morning before picking up again didn’t help), they were tossed into the cars of their parents, or in some cases, their personal drivers, and were off, the staff wanting to raise their arms to the sky in thanks for the weekend.

As everyone walked out, smiles wide, Vanderwood walked past _________’s classroom and peaked in, finding her hunched over her desk mindlessly scrolling through her phone. It was possibly the first time he had ever seen her look tired after a day of work, and he found himself actually a little concerned at the look of exhaustion on her face.

Stepping in, he placed a cup of coffee on her desk (made exactly the way she liked it) and sat across from her with his own, “Rough day?”

She looked up with a weary smile, setting her phone down before picking the mug up and taking a sip as she nodded, “The rain has finally got to them.”

He smiled sympathetically as he listened to her dramatic retelling of the day- how Seven nearly electrocuted Yoosung, who was so gullible and trusting that he believed everything the red head would say, when Zen yelled at Jumin for being covered in cat hair and making him sneeze making Jumin get even more defensive about his cat than normal, Jaehee jumping to Zen’s defense which made the situation worse and how V tried to calm everyone down but just made everyone even angrier somehow. It sounded like a normal “RFA” day to him, but something else must have happened for __________ to be so frazzled by it all. She normally was able to diffuse these in an instant, and while yes, the rain must have made it worse something else had to have been going on.

“What else happened, ________?” He pressed, to which she immediately sighed and pointed out the window to a bike chained to the rack.

“I rode my bike into work because the rain was supposed to stop…” she groaned, head in her hands.

He didn’t want to, but he laughed. She looked back up slightly incredulous before he wove his hand to explain himself, “Of all things that could stress you out; the kids imploding, the mud in the hallways, it’s the fact that you rode your bike this morning. It’s very… you… to care more for the others than yourself.”

Her head in her chin, she looked pensive for a moment before nodding, “I guess you’re right- I spent all day caring for the kids that the second the day was done I realized I was stuck here and just kind of let that get to me.”

“There’s no reason to worry. Yah, it’s raining, but you don’t have to worry about figuring out a way to get home in the rain,” he said as he reached over and picked up the empty mug across from her. He stood up and pulled his keys out of his pocket and deadpanned, “I might be a jerk but I wouldn’t force you to sleep here overnight or walk home in this rain. I can drive you- and your bike- back.”

The prospect of walking home in this rain must have been weighing on her heavily because when he offered she immediately dropped her shoulders in relief and inquired, “You’d do that?”

“Can’t let the second best teacher here get stranded,” he shrugged, trying to keep his calm as she looked up at him, gratitude apparent.

“Yah, yah, thank you Stark,” she said as she laughed and grabbed her bag from under her desk.

The two stood smiling at one another for a moment when a knock came from the doorway and they looked back to see Driver Kim standing there with Jumin behind him. “Apologies, Miss, but Master Han left something here,” the man said with a bow as _________ walked over and crouched next to Jumin.

As she helped Jumin look for his stuffed Elizabeth, his second most prized possession after the real one, Vanderwood muttered a quick, “I’m grabbing my coat” and made the move to go back to his room.

“Yes, goodbye Vanderwood,” Jumin said curtly as he turned towards him with an authoritative glare. ________ was distracted by grabbing the stuffed cat from a shelf one of the kids must have hid him on so she was unaware of the stare down going on between the two- Jumin standing behind her with an air of ownership as Vanderwood just looked back at him dumbfounded. The young “chairman” always walked about with an air of authority, but in this moment there was a definite edge to the way he stared at Vanderwood, the way he positioned himself between the two teachers.

After what felt like an eternity __________ turned around and handed the cat to Jumin who grabbed it and quickly brought it to his chest before wrapping his arm around her leg and hugging her tight. _That_ was definitely out of the ordinary- Jumin was never one to show such overt affection, even to his friends such as V. ________ grinned widely as she got down to his level and gave him a hug back, smiling as she straightened his rain coat, “Now that you have Elizabeth you can go home and play with the real one!”

“You can come play with her too,” he immediately responded and Vanderwood stopped in the doorway he was trying to sneak through. He looked back again to see Jumin give him a glance as if to say, “You’re dismissed” and quickly stomped off to his room, running his hand through his hair as he wracked his brain for a reason why the kid would give him such a dirty look. Grabbing his coat and his bag, he slowly walked back to the room and was relieved to see her waving goodbye to Jumin as him and Driver Kim made their way out.

As the door closed, ________ turned to him and laughed. “Jumin was adamant I come and visit his home! That’s never happened before, and he was sad I turned him down,” she giggled as she grabbed her own coat and bag.

“I’ve never seen him like this,” Vanderwood responded, still confused by the look he had been given the moment Jumin had seen him. He had been there long enough that he could usually read the kid, but in that moment everything was changed and he couldn’t for the life of him pinpoint exactly what the boy had been thinking and it was… unsettling to say the least.

___________ shrugged as they made their way to the parking lot, “I think he’s left alone a lot at home too. I know he spends a lot of time with V so he probably just wanted to show someone what’s important to him.”

“You’re obviously very important to him then,” Vanderwood said as he placed her bike in his car. After getting the directions to her apartment, the two pulled out of the daycare and drove through the quiet rainy streets of the city. The entire time they chatted mindlessly, ________ describing her plans for the weekend while Vanderwood listened, not really having much to add to the conversation. She was going to see some friends and had some sort of party to plan, and he was just going to go to his apartment and do absolutely nothing. Those were his weekends though, and he treasured his precious time away from work, away from thinking.

But he knew he was going to miss his daily chats with her.

As they pulled up to her apartment, _________ placed her hand on the handle before turning and smiling at him, “Thank you so so much for this, Stark, I owe you.”

“You haven’t slipped up in front of the kids and called me that, that’s all I ask you to continue to do,” he muttered as he looked away. She wasn’t deterred and laughed another “thank you” before she went to get out of his car, and before she could open the door he quickly stopped her.

“Give me your phone number.”

“What?”

He thought all air had been ripped out from his lungs as he stared back at her, a quizzical look on her face. He had just asked her for her number, but why? So he could talk to her whenever he wanted, so he could call her and hear her voice on the days they were apart? He froze for a moment before inwardly kicking himself before he responded, “Well, if there are days you’re not going to check the weather and you need a ride or something you can text me and I’ll pick you up. We don’t live too far apart.”

Yah, sure, that’s why.

__________’s face lit up as she nodded and quickly recited her number as he put it in. “You really are incredibly kind, Stark,” she said as he put his phone back in his pocket.

“You just have a problem checking the weather,” he sarcastically said back as she rolled her eyes.

“Well, either way, text me so I have your number. And if it’s raining incredibly hard and I don’t want to walk to the train I’ll let you know,” she laughed before she made the motion to get out of the car. He walked out and helped her take out her bike before she ran up to the entrance and turned back, waving to him and wishing him a relaxing weekend before she quickly opened the door and scurried inside.

Ensuring she was safely inside, he peeled out and drove off at his usual speed of “way over the speed limit” as he ripped a cigarette out of the pack and quickly smoked it, stunned that he had asked for her number. What had caused him to do that? Was it the way she looked up at him when he said he would drive her? The way she had smiled when he rolled her bike to his car? Or was it the fact that a kid was quicker to invite her over than he was? Ugh, he wasn’t going to think about the way Jumin had looked at him when he saw the two of them standing there together.

Groaning as he flung the door to his apartment open and kicked it shut behind him, he looked around the empty space. It was immaculate, so much so that you would think that no one lived there, as if he was ready to up and leave at any point. Besides a bed and a sofa, the room had a desk with several different desktops on it- far more than any person would normally have. He turned one of the monitors on and quickly typed something, pulling up the security cams around his apartment and clicking through them before pulling them all up and sitting on his couch.

After lighting up another cigarette, he tossed his lighter onto the coffee table in front of him and picked up his phone, fingers hovering above her contact. Throwing caution to the wind, he quickly typed a message out to her and hit send, tossing it next to him facing downwards as if it was contaminated when he saw the text go through.

_**“It’s Stark lolololol”** _

“It’s Stark lololol,” he muttered to himself, almost mortified at how he had first contacted her until he heard the phone vibrate beside him. Picking it up, he took a drag of the cigarette before opening her response.

**“Hacker!”**

His fingers hovered over the screen before another text immediately came in, causing him to let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding in.

**”Just kidding. But “lolololol”? Definitely unexpected.”**

He smiled as he sent a response back, wondering what she was up to.  
  
 _ **“lol”**_  
 __ **“well texting is different.”  
**  
He walked to his kitchen and opened a bottle of wine as he waited, surprised to find himself hoping that she would text back.

Back at her own apartment _________ was a few steps ahead of him and already drinking her own glass, her phone never leaving her hand once she saw that he had texted her. Of all people to use chat speak and send several messages in a row he was the last person she would have assumed would do so, but it wasn’t a bad thing at all. In fact, it was rather… endearing. She smiled as she typed out another message and hit ‘send’.  
  
 **“Hmmmm still hard to imagine you lol’ing”**

_**“well i did laugh with you that one night we went drinking.”** _   
_**“but laughing at work?”** _   
_**“no time to.”** _   
_**“gotta keep the kids in line.”** _

She smiled as she took a sip, reading the message in his voice and imagining the exasperated groan he must have let out thinking about his class.  
  
 **“you sound like you need a vacation.”**

The response was near immediate.  
 _ **“always.”**_

He sat back down on his couch and finished his cigarette as her next text came in, and he could see her leaning in, interest piqued as if she was there asking him in person.   
  
**“Well, if you could go anywhere, where would it be?”**

Another near immediate response.  
  
 _ **“Hawaii.”**_

_________ laughed as she imagined him on the beach, getting annoyed at sand that would follow him into his hotel room or getting knocked out by a wave and messing up his hair, but she couldn’t lie, the thought of relaxing near the ocean sounded amazing.   
  
**“Hmmm… another unexpected response. Why Hawaii?”**

And so the two spent the rest of the night texting back and forth, never finding themselves forcing the conversation. It was easier to express himself, easier to tease her if she did the same to him and easier to be more honest with his feelings. She could tell when he was being sarcastic, even through text, and she could tell that he was being more open than he normally was with her. She didn’t want to admit it, and she didn’t realize that he felt the same, but she was absolutely happy as she laid on her couch reading his texts, and more importantly, completely at ease.

As the night went on, she found herself getting sleepy and sent her last texts to him as she slipped into bed.   
  
**“I’m glad we were able to talk Stark, this has been a lot of fun.”**

He stood up and smiled down at his phone as he imagined her getting tired, wondering what her apartment looked like and how much it resembled her.   
  
_**“it has been”**_  
 _ **“i hope we can talk more often”**_  
 _ **“i find it’s easier to talk this way”**_  
 _ **“at work i tend to only say what i need to”**_

He held his breath as he waited for her next message, and smiled to himself when it his screen lit up.

**“I understand, and I’m happy you opened up to me.”**   
**“Text me whenever you want to, I like talking to you, Stark.”**   
**“Sweet dreams :) ”**

She began to drift off, but was able to catch his last text before she finally fell asleep.

_**“Goodnight, _________. Sleep well.”** _

With that, he stood up and walked over to his desk, looking at his monitors before shaking his head and heading to his balcony for one final cigarette before he went to sleep. Who knew he could feel so… peaceful…

And it was all cause of her.


	6. Chapter 6

“Miss Mary!! Miss Mary!!”

Vanderwood closed his eyes for a moment before turning around and looking at the young red head standing behind him and tugging incessantly on his pant leg. It was Monday and the rain had finally stopped over the weekend, giving the playground time to dry out so the kids could actually use it that week. ________ and him had checked it out that morning during their usual coffee chats and both had expressed relief that they would be able to go outside today, and made plans to have their classes have recess at the same time. The day had gone by uneventfully and the time finally came that Mint Eye and RFA were going to share the playground.

His kids had spread out around the grounds while the RFA were grouped together, all standing around a parachute that had been laid out on the ground by _________ who was walking towards him with a smile.

“Seven! What did I say about pulling on someone’s leg?” She said admonished gently when she came over.

“Ohhhh but it’s Miss Mary, he’s my friend,” the precocious child said with a large smile as he looked back up at Vanderwood.

Vanderwood turned around and looked at the two of them before addressing Seven, “Alright Seven, what’s going on?”

Seven’s smile grew even wider and Vanderwood immediately regretted engaging with the child until _______’s voice broke the silence between them, “Seven and the RFA wanted you to play the parachute game with them! You know, you lift it in the air and try to run under to the other side before it drops?”

Vanderwood looked over and saw that the others were looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to finally come over and join. They had never wanted to play with him one on one before. Sure, they would call him over only to prank him with a quick sticky note to the back or ask, or better yet demand him to do something for them. The fact that they were asking nicely instantly put him on edge, but he knew he couldn’t refuse.

“Pleaseeeeeeeeee?”

Seven’s plead instantly brought Vanderwood back to the conversation at hand and with a resigned sigh he nodded, looking up at ________ with a look in his eye that said, “Are you kidding me?” He stood up and took Seven’s outstretched hand before he looked back to _______, asking resignedly, “Will you watch over my class?”

“Of course! Thank you for doing this, they’ve been whispering about it since the moment I mentioned we’d be joining your class for recess,” she said with a little wave as she started to walk over towards his class. He watched as Saeran’s eyes lit up with excitement while Rika looked over a bit confused as to why she was approaching them before letting out a sign and turning back to Seven.

“Seven, what are you all up to?” He asked directly- straight to the point as always.

“Vanderwood the 3rd-”

“Just Vanderwood.”

“Miss Mary Vanderwood the 3rd, why would you think we’re up to something?” The kid said with a wild grin as he pulled him over to the parachute. When they finally got there Vanderwood looked around the circle and realized that every single kid had a fierce look of determination on their face. It was obvious that they had brought him over there for a reason.

Looking back one last time at ________ who was actively playing with his class he looked back at the others and nodded, “Alright, who’s going to try and race under first?”

  
The first few rounds went well, the group going in a circle and each person getting to call out another to try and run under the parachute before it got to the ground. There were a few successes but a lot of misses as they tried to shoot out the opposite side in time, but there was a lot of laughter too.

“Jaehee!” Jumin called out, the little girl shocking everyone with her speed when she quickly made it out before it caught her.

“Yoosung!” Zen said as Yoosung tried to make it out, declaring he would get it the next time after he barely missed it.

Next to call was Seven, and he looked directly across the parachute and into Vanderwood’s eyes when he laughed wildly, “Vandy!”

Vanderwood reacted immediately, not wanting to get trapped under that thing for a second. He quickly dashed under and got to the other side only to find that the kids were laughing and smiling just as they were for the others. Nothing had happened, nothing at all.

Yoosung was up next and in his brightest and most cheerful voice cried out, “Mary!”

Vanderwood took a moment to realize he had been called out again before he rushed under again and got up to see the rest laughing. Jaehee almost immediately jumped to her turn, the rest of them lifting the parachute up with her when she yelled, “Vanderwood!”

He made it out again, but barely, and when he went to say something they had already jumped to the next move, V who shockingly forcefully shouted, “Vanderwood!”

Vanderwood wanted to give up but he was frazzled and made one last move before the parachute came snapping down and he was caught underneath it. He immediately heard the kids rush towards him in an effort to keep him trapped under there, and he grit his teeth, slowly counting backwards from 10 to try and calm down lest he stand up and pull the parachute literally out from the children’s feet. They had outsmarted him.  
“RFA, get off and let me out,” he said sternly, history showing that the kids would get off since they knew he was being serious and wasn’t happy.

They wouldn’t budge this time.

“Not so fast, Vanderwood- we’re going to have a little talk,” Jumin’s voice came out from above.

“It’s hot under here, and you all need to get off immediately,” he said again, getting angry that the kids were blatantly keeping him there.

He heard all of them shuffle to sit down before the center of the parachute was brought over to where he was seated, allowing him to look out the hole at the center and glare at the kids. “Now you can breathe!” Yoosung happily said as he sat back down and Seven started speaking.

“What do you think of ____________?” he said gravely.

Vanderwood startled a little, a quick, “What?” Falling from his lips before Jaehee spoke up.

“We know you like her more than any other teacher we’ve had before,” she said with a critical look.

“That’s because she’s the best teacher any of you have ever had,” he replied, a bit shocked at the sudden line of interrogation.

V softly spoke up, “We see the way you look at her when we’re out on the playground together.”

“Or when you pass her in the hallway,” Zen chimed in.

“And most importantly, when you think you’re alone,” Jumin finished, the edge apparent in his voice.

Vanderwood froze under the parachute, almost immobile from the way Jumin’s voice dropped before Seven spoke up again. “Jumin told us that he saw you and her alone, Vandy, and that you even drove her home,” he said in such a serious and adult tone that Vanderwood froze yet again.

“She chose to go with you over me, Vanderwood,” Jumin cut in again, and in that instant Vanderwood realized what was happening.

The kids were jealous, angry even, that he was spending time with her on their own. They were letting him know they noticed something happening and that they were not happy with it.

“________ is very special,” V gently said after a bit of silence, the kids nodding in agreement with him emphatically.

Yoosung was nodding furiously, his little hands in fists beside him as he quickly spoke, “She’s the best person in the world, Vanderwood! She always supports us and cares for us, and no one has cared like her!” He paused, trying to hold back from crying (the sweet boy), before he declared, “And we’re not going to lose her to you!”

“What?” Vanderwood said, absolutely dumbfounded that he was being challenged by these kids, that they were declaring war on him. They had planned to trap him under a parachute so that they could tell him to “back off” and had done that within the day.

These toddlers.

These terrorists.

But he also realized that he was getting really hot under the parachute now that he was thinking about ___________:

The first time he had seen her, a stranger immediately smiling at him without reservation, lost in her papers and notes of the kids, her devotion admirable from the beginning.

When the two of them would chat on the playground as they watched the kids, and how nice her laugh was whenever he made a sarcastic remark.

And how…

Oh no, he wasn’t going to think of any of that- he needed to get out.

“Guys! What are you doing to Vanderwood!” _________ shouted as she quickly rushed over to them- causing them to flee and pull the parachute off, not without one final look of warning as they let him out from under it. _________ held her hand out to help Vanderwood up, but he quickly stood up himself, stumbling a bit in the process.

“Are you ok?” She asked, taking a closer look at him as she gave the children an admonishing look that caused them to shrink back.

“Fine, totally fine,” he quickly said as he moved towards his class, ready to get back inside and for the day to be done. How in the hell did his life come to this?

She nodded, a look of concern on her face as her hand fell to her side, “Oh ok, you’re just a little red so I thought maybe you were a little hot from being under there.”

Vanderwood crossed his arms and looked back at the kids to hide his increasingly red cheeks and found himself in a stare down between the most intense and determined children he’d ever seen in his life, and he had Rika in his class. Coughing to hide his discomfort he shook his head and started to gather up his kids, “No, everything is fine. Got a little rowdy, that’s all.” He looked back at her one last time as the last kid went through the door but he immediately looked away when they locked eyes and she smiled at him.

Walking into his room he quickly instructed the children to play with some puzzles before he made his way over to his desk. He pulled his chair out and placed both of his hands on his desk before he groaned lightly and sat down hard.

Instantly a loud rip roared through the room and every kid looked over in horror or awe at their teacher before pointing at him and laughing.

Vanderwood reached under the cushion only to find a deflated whoopee cushion waiting for him. He pulled it out and looked at it before leaning his elbows on the desk and holding his head in his head, a deep sigh falling from his lips as he just silently waited for the day to end.


	7. Chapter 7

**“Seven has been out a few days and that’s really unusual, he’s never missed more than 1 day in a row before.”**   
**“I guess I’m just a bit nervous!”**   
_Read_   
**“Hope you have a good evening, Stark.”**   
_Delivered_

________ closed out her text messages and with a huff tossed the phone onto the couch besides her and walked off, frustrated beyond words at this point. Another month had passed and over those 4 weeks Stark had slowly but surely cut her out of his life. At first she had noticed they never were on the playground at the same time. She then realized she never saw him after school, and that he slowly stopped texting her over time, and she had absolutely no idea why he had done this, especially when she thought they had been getting so close.

 

The final blow was when he stopped going into the break room at all, essentially keeping inside his room at all times. It wasn’t until then did she realize how lonely she was without him, having really been the closest to him out of anyone at the school. She would casually chat in the break room with her coworkers, throw a friendly nod their way on the play ground, but it wasn’t the same as with him. One day, she quickly asked one of the caretakers about him before they snapped their finger and shouted to the others in the room, “I told you he was avoiding her!” _______ was instantly mortified and deflected questions about the two of them expertly, stating that she hadn’t been able to see him recently due to the increase in their work.

But the damage was done, and now she really knew that he was going out of his way to avoid her. The story eventually got back to Vanderwood, who immediately felt guilty for causing her to act this way, to have to act this way. But it was for the best. He was getting too close to her, and the kids declaring war helped him remember that.

At least, that’s what he told himself.

  
_________ was angry though, and she was allowed to be. It had been a great few months, and she had slowly found herself completely under the spell of the irritable and evasive man who she alone called “Stark”. He was sarcastic yet incredibly caring in his own convoluted way. She had loved getting to know him slowly, never asking him to share more than he found necessary and she had been the same way, always telling him what she felt comfortable saying. While others found him proud she found him principled, and when one could say he was abrasive she just found his actions to be defensive, obviously tying to keep up a wall of some kind.

She didn’t mind it, underneath it all she could tell he was a kind man who knew the value of himself, yes, but also cared for others. He had been surprisingly open with her from the beginning, which he would often joke about to her. There were some barriers, yes, but over time the two had grown close, and the fact that he would just shut her out without warning _absolutely_ pissed her off.  
Stark was trying to ghost her. He was trying to ghost on his own coworker who worked in the room next to him and that pissed her off.

Flopping down onto the couch, she pulled her phone from under her and checked her texts again.

**“Seven has been out a few days and that’s really unusual, he’s never missed more than 1 day in a row before.”**   
**“I guess I’m just a bit nervous!”**   
**“Hope you have a good evening, Stark.”**   
_Read_

“You mother fucker, at least turn off your read receipts!” She groaned out in frustration as she dropped the phone to her chest again. She hadn’t texted him in a week, she figured that she could try and reach out again but of course he was avoiding her. If he hadn’t have been so immature about this situation, if he would have only answered the questions she had asked him when this started, maybe she wouldn’t be contacting him. But all she knew was that she wanted him to at least give her the courtesy of explaining why he had stopped talking to her, and giving her the chance to apologize if it was something she did.

If he wasn’t responding to her texts and was deliberately avoiding her at work where she couldn’t cause a scene, there was no way for this to happen though. She’d just have to get used to life without him, left behind, feeling as if she was tossed aside.

And as mentioned, that _pissed_ her off.

Grabbing her phone and checking the weather for the rest of the week, she found herself smiling as she gathered up her gear for the next day. He was gonna talk to her, mark her words. _______ was going to confront him, and her feelings, all in one go.

She wasn’t going to lie anymore, she was going to take control.

———

Friday came, and with its entrance so came the rain. It was down-pouring, and while the weatherman had said there’d be showers, no one really expected it to rain as hard as it was.

Everyone but ________, though. She had been watching the weather extensively and had picked this as the day to enact her plan, feeling that it would rain much harder than expected at the hours after school. Call it intuition, but she had predicted it and was right, and when she woke up she smiled to herself, a small smile that remained on her face the rest of the day.

It wasn’t her usual kind smile, and her kids were quick to notice. It was competitive, a little testy, and a whole lot of nerves. Her energy was overflowing, and she was confident in her plan but that isn’t the same as being confident in yourself. She was able to fake her smile, but the kids were able to see that something was bothering her, and they suspected it had to do with Vanderwood. She hadn’t mentioned him that day, which was odd, but she hadn’t reacted when they talked about him either, as a test. ________ wasn’t 100% devoted to them though, no, it was actually far worse, and they immediately were suspicious of the teacher next door and what he did to make her worry.

After conspiring in the corner, the RFA all packed up for the weekend and followed her to the front door before they all turned around and grabbed her in a huge group hug. _______ instantly dropped to her knees and wrapped them up together, somehow able to hug her 6 students. She was going to settle her feelings once and for all, and it would make her a better teacher in the end, no matter what happened. As they left her care and went back to their guardians, she immediately pulled out her phone and opened up her text messages.

Thumb hovering for a moment, she then pressed “Stark” and immediately began typing up a quick message to him.

**“Hey, I was wondering if your offer to drive if it rains still stands?**   
**“Please let me know either way, thanks.”**   
_Delivered_

The message was slightly cold, but she couldn’t help but be a bit angry. She sat in her room, coat on, scarf wrapped around her neck and gloves in hand as she looked at screen in anticipation, waiting for some sort of response. She could see his car from her room and if it left she’d give up, that’d be it.

**“Hey, I was wondering if your offer to drive if it rains still stands?**   
**“Please let me know either way, thanks.”**   
_Read_

Breath caught in her throat, she stared at the text bubble in anticipation as she could see him typing, realizing he would actually be responding to her.

She had to hold back her squeal when she saw his curt response.

_**“Meet me outside.”** _

Grabbing her bag she quickly made her way outside and waited under the awning, turning when she heard the door open up behind her. God, Stark still looked so good.

He was looking a little more tired than he was a month back, as if something kept him up at night, bothering him in his dreams. Without so much as a glance he started walking towards his car, and she quickly followed behind him, not so much making a peep. He unlocked the car and they got in before he peeled out of the parking lot, still not a word said between them.

Right turn. Lane change. Red light. ________ became hyper aware of every change that was happening as they sat there, nothing playing to cut the silence, Vanderwood driving as if she wasn’t even there. He wouldn’t even give her the curtesy of forced conversation. She would toss quick glances his way every so often, realizing that yes, he looked a lot more tired than usual and that he was deliberately avoiding looking at her. Gosh how she missed those eyes, and the usual grimace that was plastered on his face before he slipped into a rare smile, and god how she had missed his smile, so disgustingly handsome for a sarcastic chain smoker who made her laugh like none other.

As they sat in the silent car, his leather gloved hands gripping the steering wheel, nothing but the rain pounding onto the roof and the click of the blinker, _________ finally snapped.

“Care to explain why you’ve been avoiding me?” She asked, head whipping around to stare him down, determined to get an answer out of him.

He was absolutely shocked by the sudden comment from her. He turned to her with widened eyes before looking back to the road as the light turned green. They drove for a few seconds before _______ continued, “Look, Stark, I consider you a friend, and it hurt when you just stopped interacting with me. I want to talk about what happened, what could have caused this, as adults, but I can’t do that if you completely ignore me.”

She looked over at him, no hesitation or hint of deception in her eyes. Oh god did his plan backfire. Yes, Vanderwood thought that he could just cut her out without warning and that all would be good. Maybe she’d think he was an asshole or maybe she wouldn’t even care, they had known each other only a few months and it wasn’t like they really knew each other. He truly was an idiot though, and here sat _________, trying to get things back to how they were, wondering what exactly had happened that would cause him to just push her away.

She continued though, a determined look on her face, “I’m going to be honest with you though, you can’t just cut people out of your life like that. I can’t help but feel like this must hurt you too in some way…”

His grip on the steering wheel instantly changed and he turned off the directions to her apartment and made a sharp right, cutting across traffic and speeding through the streets expertly despite the rain. She braced herself against his dashboard as she looked over at him as he drove with a severe look on his face, his eyes never leaving the road as he quickly sped to the opposite side of town.

He quickly parked on the street and turned to her, unable to comprehend what he was feeling, what he wanted to say. “You want me to be honest with you about why I stopped talking to you?” He barked.

________ didn’t flinch as he looked at her, nodding with firm resolve. “Yes, yes I do, Stark,” she said with unwavering eyes.

His eyes remained sharp as he stared at her, the most tumultuous of feelings rising in his stomach as he turned off his car and looked at the steering wheel. Opening his door and grabbing his umbrella, he walked to her side of the car and opened the door, holding the now open umbrella over her head. He stood underneath it, his hand held out to her, a somewhat desperate look on his face.

He felt a shock run through him when she took his hand and quickly got under the umbrella, body pressed slightly against him. She had trusted him, remaining calm and composed amidst his emotional turmoil and was unlike anyone else he’d ever met. Placing his hand on her back and guiding her a little ways down the street, the sign for the bar they had gone to those months before when he had only just started to want to get to know her, for her to get to know him.

And if she wanted to know him, to know why he had ignored her, pushed her away damn it she would know.

Walking into the bar, Vanderwood went over to the bartender and quietly chatted with him, the older man nodding before he left his post behind the bar, turned the light off over the sign, and put on his coat, handing Vanderwood the keys to the bar before he turned to ________ and gave a slight bow. Nodding back at him, she watched as he walked out, Vanderwood locked the door, and then grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses before stomping over to the corner booth.

With a slight smirk, one more of bemusement than anything else, ________ followed after him and sat across from him as he opened the bottle and poured the two of them some very full glasses. Pushing it across the table to her, she picked it up before she finally broke the silence.

“Alright, Stark. What’s your story?” She asked as she took a sip, pointedly looking at him as she waited for him to explain himself.

He couldn’t run. He couldn’t hide. He had finally found himself confronted with something, _someone_ , that he didn’t want to push away, that he wanted to stay close to. With a sigh, he reached into his back pocket as he started to compose his thought.

He was gonna need a cigarette.


	8. Chapter 8

“Your class essentially threatened me, telling me it wouldn’t be good if I got any closer to you.”

No, no, that was a pathetic excuse. Yes, he had gone home that day a little shell shocked, a little perturbed at how easily the kids had read him. He ended up chain smoking mindlessly through the night as his thoughts were preoccupied with just how much he wanted to be _closer_ to her. When he saw a text from her, apologizing once again for the kids’ behavior he shot off a quick, “That’s my job,” as a response before he tossed his phone to the coffee table, trying to think of anything but her now.

It was hard to not think of her though when she was always right there. The next day he had come in early, met her in the break room like always, and immediately lost all his resolve to ignore her when she turned to him with that bright smile. He was quick to turn down her offer to have their class play together again- he was genuinely wary of the kids, especially Seven. 

“Oh, I just totally switched up my class’ schedule, they needed a change of pace.”

Another painful excuse. It had been easy to adjust his kids schedule so that there was less of a chance of them running in the halls. They had been unruly as of late, and the new routine might keep them busy, which meant he would be busy. The less he saw her, the less he thought of her, of how light he felt when she was around. His next step was to keep their conversations in the break room brief, a simple hello, how are you, maybe letting her tell an anecdote or too before walking off. No one else noticed a change in his behavior, but he could tell that she knew something was off.

“I’ve just been really busy that’s why I stopped texting you.”

He couldn’t bring himself to say that, because he knew the truth. What he found the hardest to do was to stop texting her, to cut that honest line of communication. He had really meant it when he said that it was easier to talk through text, and since he had just had been given this opportunity he didn’t want to give it up yet. He just cut back to every other day the first week, but when they talked it was like time didn’t matter, and even though his responses were shorter, they still talked for hours until _______ would say goodnight. He never told her much about himself, about his likes, dislikes, what really bothered him, and what he was really good at, but he wanted to, oh god did her want to.

There was a reason why she couldn’t know him, why he hadn’t allowed anyone to get close to him in years. Getting close meant caring, and caring meant getting hurt, or losing your trust in someone. The only person you could rely on was yourself, that’s what Vanderwood had truly believed. At least, until he met __________. He had missed her. He really truly had, and it had hurt to be apart from her, to not see her smile, her words of encouragement, how she cared for the kids. God he really had missed her.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard her stand up and move out of the booth, immediately looking over at her, terrified that she was leaving before she held her hands out and pointed to the kitchen.

“Calm down, Stark. I’m not leaving. You’ve just been in your head for a bit and I’m getting hungry, so I’m just going to investigate the kitchen. We had food here the last time, I know there’s something here,” she said with a slightly raised brow as she carried her now half empty glass of wine.

Shaking his head, he put out his cigarette and stood up, grabbing his glass and the bottle of wine before walking towards the kitchen as she stared at his back a little incredulously. “I can’t have anything happen to this kitchen, he’d kill me,” he mumbled as he lifted up the counter of the bar and held it for her, looking at her expectantly.

She just rolled her eyes and glided past him and to the door of the kitchen, turning back around and shaking her head, “You know I’m nothing but responsible.” With a laugh she took a sip of her wine and walked through the door, and Vanderwood couldn’t help but smile as she walked away. No one usually laughed at him, no one wanted to spend time with him, and he realized just how much he’d missed her in the past month. Walking in behind her he found her a few seconds late, he found her already rifling through the fridge, looking at the different meats and produce inside.

“It’s alright if I whip something up, yah? I’ll leave some money for the owner, of course! But is it still ok?” She asked, looking back as she took another sip from her wine.

Taking a large gulp of his own, he walked over and sided up next to her, purposefully keeping a bit of distance, but honestly beyond happy to be this close to her. When she had texted him earlier that day he wanted to ignore it, he really did. There was no doubt in his mind though, he had to help her. They worked in room separated by a single wall, and he had done everything he could to avoid her, and that had hurt them both in the end. Seeing her in his car he wanted to explain everything, to apologize, but he had held it back. He would be happy with just having her in his car, just being able to feel her presence was enough he told himself. But then she had turned around, looked him dead in the eye, and confronted him, shattering his hope that she was fine with this too, that she really didn’t care. And now they were in the kitchen of his usual bar, completely alone with nothing to interrupt them.

“It’ll be fine,” he responded after a second, looking over at her as he shrugged.

“Hmm… it should still be something relatively easy,” she muttered as she looked around the pantry to see what he had. Pulling out a box of pasta, she held it out to Vanderwood and shrugged just as lazily as he did moments before. “I can make a mean plate of pasta,” she said with a smile as she shook the box, and Vanderwood couldn’t help but smile at her.

She nearly felt her heart stop at seeing that small smile, but she couldn’t let herself get distracted. He still had a lot of explaining to do and they would get to that in a second. Nodding happily though, she started to pull out the other ingredients that she needed and gestured for him to sit down. “I got this,” she said as she took another sip, nearly finishing her glass as she turned to the stove, “You still have to tell me what happened.”

Damn. She had tricked him in the end.

They finished their glasses and Vanderwood topped them off, with a small raise of the glass and a nod to each other they both took a sip. __________ on one side of the table in the middle, already place a pot of water on the stove and waiting for it to boil, Vanderwood on the other, sitting on a stool and looking at the woman across from him quickly move about the kitchen. She was far more courageous than he ever would be, facing her fears head on and confronting him like that.

“There’s no excuse for what I did, although I can think of plenty,” he started as she continued to prep. The busier she kept herself, the easier it was for him to not be intimidated by her. Had she been staring at him intently as before, he might have stayed clammed up forever. Maybe she had realized that and moved them to the kitchen, he’d never know. “I’m not the most popular of guys, as you might know, and I choose to keep it that way. I’ve always found that having… well… relationships just complicated things, especially when it came to work, and saying that out loud makes me realize how stupid it is,” he finished with a sigh.

He looked up to see _________ smiling at him over her glass as she took a sip and nodded at him before turning back to the stove and browning the meat shew as cooking. She was agreeing with him in the most nonchalant of ways and he was struck by how calm that made him feel. She obviously agreed, he was stupid, but she wasn’t going to chide him about it. Comforted, he continued, “I never really had friends, and that’s partially my fault.   
I didn’t have the best role models growing up and I hardened myself from a rather young age. “There was only one thing you could rely one, and that was yourself,” I’d think, I had completely stopped trusting the world at that point.”

He looked at their empty glasses as he stopped and quickly stood up, going out to the bar and grabbing another bottle as she continued to cook without a misstep. It was so natural between them when he slid up next to her, and when their hands touched when he handed her her glass of wine he knew he wouldn’t be able to lie to himself anymore. He _had_ to be near her, in any way he could, and he had to admit that. “I’m an ass though, and you know that. What’s even worse is that you know that first hand. I got scared, and it’s childish.”

“________, I’m sorry for what I did. I hope you can forgive me, and that I can continue to get to know you, and you know me. I’m proud yes, but I at least know when to admit I’m wrong,” he said, his gaze never wavering as he looked into her eyes, so open and warm before she started nodding.

“I forgive you Stark,” she said softly. Out of seemingly no where, she set her glass down on the counter and quickly wrapped her arms around Vanderwood, pulling him close to her as she smiled against him. He paused for a moment before wrapping his arms around her just as fiercely, pulling her close to him greedily. He felt her laugh against him, her breath slightly tickling him as she sighed, “We’ll get to know each other at our own pace. It’s not like we never see each other.” She laughed at her lame joke before she looked up at him to see staring down at her silently, a gentle smile on his face as he held her.

They tilted their heads, slowly drawing to each other as they went to close their eyes, hands against each other’s backs as they pressed their fingertips in a bit more firmly, as if they were confirming that this really was happening, that they were really in each other’s arms. Vanderwood’s voice dropped and he whispered her name softly, without any of his usual sarcasm or grit, “_________.” Lips close enough that they could feel each other’s breath upon their own, they both took a final breath when the sudden hiss of the stove pulled their attention away from each other.

_______ let out a gasp and rushed to grab the pot of water that was boiling over off the burner. Vanderwood panicked and turned the stove off, grimacing as the mess on the gas stove, and the bottom of the burned pot. “And you promised to not make a mess,” he groaned.

She turned back around and scoffed, “Well if I wasn’t… well if you hadn’t… well, the mess will be worth it, trust me, my cooking is delicious.” She was obviously flustered, and he couldn’t help but smile gently at her as he watched her flit about amusedly.

He rose as eyebrow as she quickly plated up their dishes and passed it over to him, digging in just as fast. He took a few bites and he couldn’t lie, she was right. Dinner really was good. Yes, he cooked, but it was tiring and he sometimes just wished to have a meal with someone else. Here he was, having one with her, the calm amidst his personal storm. His attention was pulled away from the food though when she started laughing to herself.

“What’s this about. You’re acting weird,” he said warily.

_________ kept laughing before shaking her head and smiling as she drank her wine. “I’m actually just not worried about the mess,” she said with a shrug before she started to laugh again and looked at him with a mischievous look on her face. “After all, I’m the one who cooked so that means you’re the one on cleaning duty,” she laughed, winking at him before biting into her food.

“What?!?” He shouted as she continued to laugh and smile, her cheeks flushed pink as he launched into a lecture about cleaning up after yourself and keeping tidy. A few seconds in though, he couldn’t help but start laughing along with her at the absurdity of it all. He looked upon her with easy eyes and continued to eat alongside her as she happily chartered away. They would talk about what had almost happened later, he knew they would, but for now he would just enjoy her presence, take in her bright smile as often as he could.

He just needed to be next to her. That’s all he knew, and that’s all he wanted. This was enough for now, having her by his side. She felt the same, she was happy to just be talking again, heart racing from what had nearly happened, but feeling confident that someday they’d both be ready to talk about that. For now, this was what she wanted.

Hours later, lots of pasta and alcohol later, the rain was still pouring down as they stared outside the window. _______ sighed, groaning as she looked at her watch.

“Stark, I don’t think this is ever going to stop,” she whined, her now sitting at the bar where the customers were as he was behind, having played bartender and actually made some solid drinks for someone just messing around. She had encouraged him when he made a drunk remark and then he was treating her as his customer as they had standard “Bartender Talks”, laughing at each other as they joked around sarcastically. Her mind seemed to be on other things as she stared outside, hand on her chin as she looked out wistfully.

He nodded, the rain pattering against the glass, the street completely dark as no cars were driving around, and certainly no one was outside. It fell silent as the two of them stared at the window, simply taking in the peacefulness of it all. Amidst it though Vanderwood felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out to see a notification for a message from __________. He glanced over and she was just staring at the window, but he opened it and read it without asking her what it was.

**“I think I should get going soon…”**   
**“It’s getting late, and once again you got drunk, leaving me on my own to get home.”**

He looked over and she was smiling at him gently, a bit of a playful look on her face as she gently teased him over their last journey to this bar together. He though he was good at snarky comments, but she was a strong contender for the title.

_**“You just had to bring that up, huh?”** _

**“I made it all night until now, you know how hard it was to not make a joke about that the entire evening?”**

He rolled his eyes as he noticed her hold back her laughter, quickly muttering, “Very mature.”

She nodded as if in agreement, responding, “Exactly, I’m super mature. I know it’s time for me to get to sleep, and that’s the most adult thing you can do while drinking.” She giggled as she leaned on the counter again, looking up at the messy haired brunette before her. _________ knew that she would do whatever he asked, what ever he suggested, and she was waiting for him to take charge, to see what he would do.

As it fell silent again, the two looked at each other, a content smile on hers and relaxed smile on his. After a moment, he slowly whispered, “We should call you a cab.” He couldn’t take her home, despite the urge to tell her he lived a block away and give her his bed for the night making sure she had everything she needed as he took the couch. He couldn’t be too greedy, no, not yet.

_________ sat up straighter when he made his decision and nodded. While she might have secretly hoped for more, she had to respect his boundaries and knew that he would eventually open up completely to her. She started to gather her bag and coat while Vanderwood called a car, luckily one having a quick pick up time. He ran and got her other bag from his car and when the car pulled up for her he held the umbrella over her head and escorted her out.

Before he opened the door for her _________ threw her arms around him once again, the hug quicker than the last but just as meaningful to him. She smiled, gave a small wave and got into the car, wishing him a good weekend and saying she’d see him Monday. There was another pause before she finally got in the car where they stared at each other, a look on her face that matched his that seemed to want to ask to stay. She slid into the backseat and quickly closed the door instead, the car driving off into the night as she looked behind her at Stark, his silhouette illuminated by the one street lamp lit up at the moment.

As she drove off around the corner Vanderwood stood there for a moment watching her disappear. The whole evening had felt surreal, from the minute she sat in his car to now, he couldn’t believe everything that had happened. How she had felt in his arms, how pretty she looked as she gazed up at him behind long eye lashes, her eyelids closing as she brought her lips towards him, so open and trusting. So ready to take a risk.

He might have done some daring stuff in his past, but he wasn’t the biggest risk taker, always preferring to have a plan, to know exactly what every day would be like. But seeing her like that, knowing that she had to feel even something similar to what he felt for her, god he was ready to risk it all. He didn’t care what that meant for him. He didn’t care about getting hurt, of being betrayed. Vanderwood wanted _________, even if it was simply as coworkers. She had already changed him, in such a short time.

And he didn’t mind it at all. Smiling to himself, he enjoyed the lingering warmth from her hug as he lazily walked to his apartment. He’d clean up in the morning, right now he wanted his day to end on a high note, and that he felt that maybe now he’d finally be able to have a good night’s worth of sleep.

He had apologized to _________ and she had forgiven him and he got to hold her not once, but twice. Yes, he was going to sleep well that night. Maybe he’d even dream…


	9. Chapter 9

“What do you think about black with gold detailing? For invitations?”

“Invitations?”

She pushed a binder towards him as he sat down next to her and placed a cup of coffee down for her, confused at the massive thing she had pushed his way. He looked over to see that she had another one in front and her and rose an eyebrow in curiosity, not holding back his confusion, “What the hell is this for?”

________ looked up at him with a slightly open mouth, one hand running down a list of people and the other quickly taking notes on a notepad. “Ah, well, it’s for a party I’m helping to plan. It’s a long story for later,” she responded as she shook her head, straightening out her thoughts. She pointed back at the binder before she looked down at her notebook again, “I need your input though, seriously.”

Taking a sip of his coffee, he looked back down and scanned through some sample invitations. “These look expensive,” he muttered, holding them up and looking at the back. 

“Yah, I’ve been given carte blanche on the budget,” she said as she sighed and looked back up at him, “So, anything look good?”

He flipped through a few more pages before turning back to the invitation she had pointed out. “Not my favorite, but I can see it’s general appeal,” he sighed as he took another sip of coffee. 

“I thought you’d agree with me,” she laughed as she pulled back the binder and flipped through a few pages herself, finally settling on a page before she pulled out another card and held it between her fingers. Smiling, she flashed it back and forth and Vanderwood stared at the sight of before him, and not just the deep purple card with sharp corners and clean black font. She was obviously stressed, but she still had the energy to give him a teasing smile, and god did she know his style. “Judging by the look on your face I was right that this would perfect for you!” She laughed, and he gave her an easy smile back. 

“You got me,” he laughed as he drank his coffee, content with just watching her amusedly. 

It had been a few weeks after their reconciliation in the bar and things were going on even better than before he had cut her out. They’re coworkers had almost immediately noticed and congratulated him on getting ________ to forgive him when they were talking in the teacher’s lounge together. He had scoffed at them but she just laughed and told him to ignore it, admitting they teased because they were happy to see that he wasn’t always on guard and probably still shocked that he had somehow been able to make a friend. He had looked away and out the window, breaking eye contact before whispering, “Well, they’re not wrong saying that I now have a friend.” He couldn’t see it, but she had smiled so happily, so utterly joyous that he had called her his friend. She had gone to take a step towards him, hand slowly reaching for his before she pulled back when he looked back at her. 

She was nervous about ruining the moment, about messing up the relationship they had just once gotten back on track. So she pulled back and gave him a soft smile.

While things went back to normal for the two of them, there was a group that was not happy with how the they had started talking again. Later that week they had been excited to go out on the playground, but froze when they realized that Mint Eye was there too. If Mint Eye was there that would mean Vanderwood would be there and when they looked up to see him turn towards ________ and smile at her with a kindness they hadn’t seen the 6 of them looked at each other and nodded firmly. This simply couldn’t be allowed. 

They weren’t disruptive, but Vanderwood was definitely watching his back, knowing the kids had realized him and _________ were back on speaking terms. The RFA started demanding more of __________’s time, and while she didn’t seem to realize that they were trying to keep her busy for a reason it was apparent to the target of their rebuttals. ________ had become significantly busier over the weeks and wasn’t giving much away, making him a bit worried that something was going on that she didn’t want him to know about, about her life outside of the walls of the daycare and the bar. He wasn’t going to pry, but he couldn’t help but wonder. 

A few days after she had asked him for his opinion on invitations, everything came together. 

A staff meeting was called on a random Friday afternoon, and every teacher filed into the main hall, curious as to what was going on. Upon entering, Vanderwood scanned the room and was surprised that he couldn’t find ________ among the crowd. Ever punctual, Vanderwood waited as the other teachers crawled in, and when the director stood on the stage and ________ still wasn’t there he knew something was up. After the staff stopped chattering the director clapped her hands together, an overly excited look on her face. “Staff, the RFA has an announcement to make.”  
Nodding to himself, knowing they had to have had some part of this the kids stepped onto the stage, __________ proudly standing behind them. 

Jihyun stood up to the microphone and ________ quickly lowered it before he began to address the crowd. “Friends, thank you for coming. We, the RFA, have learned a lot about the world and how many people are not lucky enough to live like us,” he said, incredibly mature for a child of his age.

Jumin then walked forward, Jihyun walking back to _______’s side. Ever serious he said, “We are hosting a party to raise money for various charities, and you are all invited. Official invitations have been sent to your homes, and the parents of each student here have been too.”

Zen then moved forward, him and Jumin bumping shoulders as they passed each other, “we would be honored if you join us!” 

The teachers immediately smiled, completely impressed by the maturity and action the children had taken. Everyone seemed excited, but as they filed back to the teachers’ lounge Vanderwood went to his room, feeling a bit uneasy. The budget had to have come from the Han and Kim families, they were beyond wealthy and could afford the cost of any party which meant that this wasn’t going to be a small gathering of people associated with the daycare. Sitting in his room quietly thinking, he sighed as he thought of that long list _________ has been scanning, and how he had absolutely no idea who could have been on it. Being around strangers made him uncomfortable, put him on edge, but a crowd of strangers? That was the worst. 

A quick knock on the door pulled him from this line of thinking as _______ peeked her head in, quickly asking, “Are you busy?”

Shaking his head she smiled and entered the room, closing the door behind her. “So, surprise! This is what I’ve been helping the kids plan over the last few weeks!”

“I can’t lie, I didn’t expect you to be planning a fundraising gala for a group of children.”

“Oh, yah, it was stressful for also a lot of fun. Definitely an experience I’ll never forget. I cried when they told me that they wanted to do good things for the world like I did,” she said as she sat across on one of the small chairs across from him, her eyes growing soft as she thought back to the time the kids proposed the party for her. 

He nodded, unsure of how to respond before she pulled a black envelope out of the pocket of her apron and slid it across the table from him. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, “I thought you were sending them out?” 

As he picked up the invitation he wanted to smile at the way she had written “Stark” across the front of it but chose not to as he slid him finger under the seal and listened as she chatted along, “Oh, well, it’s not like I can get access to your addresses, I had to give them to the director to send out. I said she didn’t need to worry about yours though.” 

She leaned forward as he pulled out and invitation and felt his heart skip a beat. It was the one she had pointed out as his favorite, his preferred name in the clean font he had liked as the details were provided below. He looked up at her to see a wide smile on her face as he held it up to her. 

“You chose these in the end?” He asked as she shook her head no. 

“I just really liked that invitation for you, and I wanted to give it to you personally,” she smiled as she looked over at him and shyly asked, “So, will you come?” 

If he hadn’t spent years training he knew he wouldn’t have been able to stare at it blankly, not allowing the tears he wanted to fall even register on his face. God she was so kind to him, so absolutely unlike anyone he had encountered before. She was observant and had a better heart than anyone before in his life. He felt awful because he knew she put the extra thought into this for him, and as she sat there across from him eagerly anticipating his answer he cursed himself as he answered her. 

“No, I won’t be going. Not my scene.”

________ pulled back, obviously a bit shocked by his answer as she stuttered, “Well, um, I know it’s a bit much, but you don’t have to worry, I-”

He quickly interjected, desperate to not have her look at him like that, “I’m glad to hear that this is what you were working on, you’ll have to tell me all about it. You are a wonderful influence for those kids.”

_________ quickly stood up from the chair and made her way to the door, quickly turning back and saying just as fast, “Oh, thank you. Umm.. let me know if you change your mind?” Just as fast she was out of the room slamming the door shut behind her and Vanderwood immediately noticed that his eyes started to water, and in ________’s room she found herself feeling the same.

He wanted her in his life, but he didn’t want to expose her to... certain parts of it. He wanted to protect her, to keep her safe, but going to this gala could ruin that. As he felt a tear run down his cheek as he stared at the invitation made specifically for him, written by her, Vanderwood sarcastically addressed himself. 

“Idiot. Here you were saying you’d be open. And you shut her out once again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think Vanderwood is secretly a big sap and if given the chance would cry LOL


	10. Chapter 10

After he turned down the invitation whoopee cushions, “kick me” signs mysteriously placed on his back, small “accidents” happening on the playground (the RFA always seemed to manage to “accidentally” hit him at least once a day with a dodgeball), and knocks on his door only to open them up to an empty hallway became a commonplace occurrence. Vanderwood didn’t think too much of them at first, _______ was good about reprimanding them or catching them before they executed anything, but when the kids made their final last stand the situation escalated from pure annoyance to utter chaos.

Somehow, they had been able to capture a bird and released it in his class when they were outside on the playground. Video surveillance saw Saeran knock on the door of _______’s room as they passed it on their way outside and a few minutes later a flash of red hair appeared as Seven ran to the room, opened the door, and tossed a small pigeon into the room. When Vanderwood had returned with the class later that day he had opened the door to a panicked bird desperate to get out and a room covered in bird droppings. That was far and away the last straw. _________ had apologized profusely, Seven and Saeran had immediately been sent to the director’s office until their guardian could pick them up, and Mint Eye moved over to another class for the last hour of the day as Vanderwood stood there still. He was beyond irritated, leaning into furious now, and the fact that his usually pristine room had been absolutely contaminated made him want to walk out of the school, light up a cigarette, and scream to the sky. That would all have to wait- he had to get the entire room clean. Hands in his head as he sat in one of the tiny chairs meant of the kids, he groaned deeply before walking to the cleaning supply closet and angrily grabbing every cleaner possible and rolling it all in a large bucket to his room.

As he began to roll up one of the rugs that had been hit, a knock came at the door and he tensed up instinctively before standing up and walking over at the second knock.

Opening up the door, he was greeted by the director, standing there arms crossed with Seven standing before her. “Seven said he would like to talk to you and apologize,” she stated as she stared at the child with a stern look. Vanderwood looked down at Seven and had to hold back his sigh, the kid looked serious and he nodded as he moved out of the doorway and stepped to the side to let Seven in. “I will be back in 10 minutes, that’s when he should be picked up,” she said as she turned on her heel, a small sigh falling from her own lips as Vanderwood closed the door and turned to Seven.

Standing in the room, the red head nodded once before turning to Vanderwood and dropping to the ground, legs crossed and emphatically stating, “Mary, we need to talk.”

“It’s Vanderwood, and what do you have to say Seven? I don’t need to tell you that what you did was wrong, you knew that from the moment you planned it, but I want to hear your side of this,” he said as he sat across from him on the ground. Before _______ had arrived, Seven and him had a funny relationship. Seven had used to just get up and leave his old classroom before wandering over to Vanderwood’s, simply stating he was bored and would rather play with him than anyone else, he’d find him in the teacher’s lounge and just ask a ton of questions about his life, and he even would just go and sit next to him on the playground, constantly teasing and making up new nicknames for the weary adult. That had all stopped from the moment ________ had entered their lives, and while Vanderwood had been thankful he couldn’t help but feel a bit rejected.

But sitting there, Seven looking at him with a serious look on his face, Vanderwood knew that something was going on beyond simple pranking. Seven went to speak a few times as Vanderwood waited for him to start before he quickly blurted out, “I’m sorry for ruining your room. I know how much you like to keep things clean.

Vanderwood nodded, “Thank you for apologizing, Seven. You and Saeran caused a lot of damage.”

“Don’t be mad at Saeran. I asked him to do that,” Seven quickly jumped to the defense of the other child.

Vanderwood asked back just as quickly as Seven had answered, “When did you even plan this?” Out of all the people to coordinate it had been these two, and Vanderwood was even more suspicious of the relationship between these two than before.

“On the playground, just don’t be mean to him because of this,” he quickly pleaded and Vanderwood nodded.

“I’m not going to treat Saeran any differently than before, and I will never be mean to him. I am going to hold you both to a higher standard though from now on.”

“Hmmmmm that’s fair,” Seven said with a smile when he rolled onto his stomach and looked up at Vanderwood, “Hey Vandy, do you like ______?”

Vanderwood paused for a moment, thrown off by the child’s serious tone, “I do like it _______, she’s a great teacher, why do you ask?”

“I mean like-like, do you like-like her?”

Vanderwood sat there with a straight face as he immediately thought of her that night in the bar, her arms wrapped around him and that laugh he would do anything to hear before looking back at Seven, “I’ll be honest with you Seven. She’s one of the first friends I have had in many years, and I care about her, just as much as you and the rest of the RFA do.”

Seven smiled widely and nodded, “Yah, you can tell you really mean it when you smile at her.” Rolling onto his back now, Vanderwood leaned forward as he sat crossed legged across from the ever energetic kid before Seven continued, “So the RFA has decided to call a truce with you.”

“A truce?” Vanderwood questioned as Seven laughed.

“There are some rules though!” he said now jumping up and pointing at Vanderwood with an absolutely determined stare.

Vanderwood nodded, never one to dismiss the kids in his care, “Alright, let’s hear them. Then we can negotiate.”

“Well, Jumin probably won’t want to negotiate but we can try,” Seven said with a shrug before he jumped to the matter at hand, “ONE. You must always be nice to _________. Do not ignore her, that makes her sad.”

“I will do whatever I can to not make her sad.”

“TWO! You can’t make a single mistake when driving if she’s in your car!”

Vanderwood smiled lightly remembering how agitated he had been that one time she called him out before nodding, “Without a doubt.”

“THREE! Zen said to not be a wolf! He hear his older brother say that guys can be wolves and if you’re a werewolf that won’t be good for ________. FOUR! She gets first pick of playground hours.”

“There are other classes Seven, I-” he started, choosing to not address rule 3 and their interpretation of it. He didn’t want to get into that with the kid at all.

“First pick!!” Seven yelled in defiance.

Sighing, Vanderwood nodded knowing the kids would never know what went into their schedules before Seven continued.

“Ok, ummm four that’s right,” he quickly chattered before jumping on, “You have to go to the party, ________ won’t have fun if you’re not there. Next is that you always have to tell her the truth, ok? She always does, so we do and you should too.”

The last two mentioned threw him off, but Vanderwood thought for a moment and realized that what the kid was saying was true. He had to go to the party that she worked so hard to put on in such a short time, and he had to let her know that he found her truly inspiring. “You’re right, I shouldn’t hide or lie,” he said, going to stand up before Seven stopped him.

“I didn’t tell you the most important one. Number seven is very important. You can’t ever leave without letting her know.”

Vanderwood fell silent for a moment as Seven stared at him intensely, his golden eyes wavering with determination. Vanderwood slowly spoke, “What?”

Seven shrugged before he turned to look around the room, “Well, I mean, sometimes I feel like you want to be anywhere or any one else? You don’t like to answer questions, Mary.”

Vanderwood stared at the kid as he wandered around the room before standing up and chuckling under his breath. The kid could be a nuisance, but he certainly wasn’t stupid, and he was a lot more observant that anyone would ever give him credit for. “Do you want to run away sometimes, Seven?” he asked, knowing the only way he could recognize that in himself was if he too thought of running away, causing Seven to turn around with a confused look on his face. 

“No…” he trailed off before he moved to the whiteboard and started to draw on it to get away from the conversation. 

Moving to his side, Vanderwood picked up another pen and started to draw alongside him. “Well, you’re right about me, sometimes I do. Sometimes I want to just go somewhere new, and start a life there. But you’re right, it would hurt her if I ever did that. I know it would hurt her too if you were to ever run away though, so can you promise me you’ll never do that?”

Seven fell silent before he put the marker down and nodded. “I won’t. I’ll always be here.”

Vanderwood smirked as Seven’s response and said, “Well one day you’ll grow up and go to a new school!”

Seven shook his head and looked up, “I don’t ever want to leave here, you and ________ are my best friends.”

Pausing for a moment, Vanderwood instantly broke out into a laugh and smiled down at Seven, “Well I’m glad to hear that. Surprised, but glad.”

“I do like you, Madam-”

“Vanderwood.”

“Miss Mary the Third, which is why I want to make sure you are nice to ________. I wouldn’t want to have to prank you again.”

With that, there was a knock on the door, the director walked in, and Seven quickly ran to her side, waving back at Vanderwood before looking up at the director with puppy dog eyes, ever playing the innocent. As they left, Vanderwood sighed and thought back to the conversation they just had. While most of it was straightforward, he had been thrown off by Seven’s comment about running away, as if he could look right through him and understood how he felt, even though he was just a child. Another knock came a few seconds later and he went to open it, expecting the director again but ________ stood there, and immediately began to apologize. 

Holding his hand up, he shook his head, “You already apologized, and Seven and I talked. The pranking is going to stop.”

“I’m still so sorry, I never thought it would escalate to this, I got to do something to help fix this,” she started before he put a finger up to her lips to stop her from talking. 

“Could you get me a coffee? I’m going to be here awhile.”

With a nod, she turned on her heel and quickly walked to the teachers’ lounge, returning with two coffees and a pair of rubber gloves for herself. “Alright! Let’s do this- we can get this done in half the time together!” she said with a smile as she pulled them on and grabbed some cleaning wipes, immediately making her way to a basket of toys that the bird had pooped dangerously close to. As she wiped down the shelf and started to go through the toys he stopped to watch and smiled to himself, knowing that she wasn’t going to take no for an answer. 

“Thank you, _________.”

She looked up at him, that bright smile lighting up her face as she laughed, “It’s the very least I can do for what my class has been putting you through the last few weeks, Stark.”

They smiled at one another again and went back to the task at hand, laughing and joking the entire time. Every time he would glance her way he became more and more determined to let her in, to let her know him. She deserved it. Hours and countless cleaning chemicals later the place was absolutely sterile, and they turned to each other and smiled satisfactorily. Seeing that smile on her face he almost blushed, but looked away as he pulled his gloves off.

“Count me in for the party,” he said abruptly, pausing for a moment as he waited for her response.

He should have known it was going to be near immediate and absolutely excited. She quickly turned and pumped her fist in the air shouting out, “Yes!” before looking away a bit embarrassed. “I’m just really happy I’m going to know someone, the only people there I know are the parents, and that’s stressful! And these other guests are nuts; I’ve invited a mummy, a prince from the Middle East, Christmas Nolan, like, incredibly rich people and people from all professions and hobbies!!” Pausing for a moment, she laughed lightly as she gathered up the last of the trash, “I’m just really happy that I’ll have you to hangout with, to escape from the crowd.”

He stood there silently before speaking quietly, “I’m sorry I didn’t agree to go the first time. I was nervous about the crowd, about the type of people who would be there.” He smirked before continuing, “Well, I guess I had a reason to be nervous with a guest list like that.” _______ laughed softly and he looked over and smiled uncharacteristically gently for her, “That’s not an excuse though, and I should have supported you more than anyone else here. I’d be honored to go to the party, especially if you want to get away from the stress of it.” Hell, he could always leave early if someone he didn’t want to see popped up.

________ smiled back and him and walked towards, giving him a gentle hug before pulling away, as she whispered, “Thank you. I’m really glad you’ll be there.”

The two then naturally slipped back into finishing up the room before _______ went to her room to pack up. Walking out to the parking lot, Vanderwood saw that she had biked that day and was adamant that she let him drive her home- after all, it was dark. Accepting immediately, the two drove off and Vanderwood smiled to himself as they pulled out onto the road.

“What?” _______ curiously as she turned and saw the grin on his face.

“Ah, just something Seven said when he came to apologize earlier today,” he answered, the smile still wide on his face as he drove very carefully down the street.


	11. Chapter 11

“Ok, it’s weird now,” _______ declared, pushing the door of Vanderwood’s classroom open and striding over to the beanbag chair pile in the corner and flopping onto it unceremoniously all in that one sentence.

Vanderwood looked over from his opposite corner at one of the play tables that a kid’s sticky fingers left prints on, container of Clorox wipes in his hand as he scrubbed at the residue. “What’s weird now?” he asked without missing a beat, going back to the task at hand as he smiled to himself. She really was comfortable around him, and him around her, for them to be able to converse like this.

“I didn’t think much of it when Seven was kept home the last two days of the week. Made sense, him and Saeran made a mess of things and I just figured whoever their guardian- oh wait,  _guardians,_ ” she said, emphasizing the “s” on the word as if to say she didn’t believe there was more than one before continuing, “were embarrassed and wanted to keep them away for some time due to bad behavior.” She sunk into the cushions as she spoke, staring at the ceiling before she shot upright and looked at Vanderwood, causing him to look back over when he saw her move quickly out of the corner of his eye.

“But today he didn’t show up, even after a weekend, and you’re concerned,” he said flatly, standing up and walking over to her and leaning against his desk. She nodded and he turned to his desk, rummaging through some papers before holding up his absence sheet, “Saeran missed those days too, and he didn’t come back today either.”

_________ snatched the paper he held out to her out of his hand and quickly scanned it, nodding satisfactorily as she handed it back, “I’m telling you, they definitely are related. How else would they miss the same amount of school?” Vanderwood shrugged, but she shook her head furiously and pulled the paper back from his hands again.

“Can I have that back?” He asked, a little annoyed at how she had taken it back as she shook her head again.

She looked at the sheet from the past few months before looking back up at him with a guilty look in her eyes. “Look,” she started, sighing as she brought the sheet close to her chest, “I’ve tried to ignore it, really. If everyone else just accepts that they aren’t related I should too, and I’ve tried to accept that as fact.” Dropping her gaze she continued, “But I can’t do this anymore, I can’t be so apathetic as to ignore that something is going on with these children. If everyone else chooses to be, so be it, but I’ve been here for months now, and that’s too long to have not taken any action around the state that the two of them are in. The constant changing of names, the absences for days at a time, the fact I’ve never met their caretakers, the fact the Director won’t give me anymore information, something is going on!”

She had raised her voice at the end and she blushed in embarrassment at her obvious anger. Looking up at Vanderwood, she wasn’t sure what she expected, but she asked hopefully, “Will you help me?”

“What?” Was all that he said as she stood up and placed the paper on the desk behind him, eyes bright as she took his hands in hers.

“Will you help me find the truth? Figure out who they are- what’s going on at home for them to act like this? Help me potentially protect them?” She was animated at this point, but he was at a standstill again just looking at her, trying to get a grasp of the situation.

“There’s nothing to find. I trust the Director,” he said as he took his hands out of hers, ignoring how they burned where she had touched as he flexed them before crossing his arms.

He was used to a sad look on her face when he had turned her down in the past, but he wasn’t expecting the look of fury in her eyes when he met her gaze again. He tightened his arms against his chest defensively as he took her in, recognizing this anger from when she confronted him in his car but unsure of the reason for it now. Her arms hung at her side and he noticed her fists clench as she let out a small laugh of disbelief.

“So you’re ok with this fucked up situation where we aren’t allowed to question what’s going on with the kids in our care?” She asked.

“You’re acting like there’s some conspiracy theory-“ he started before she rose a finger to shut him up.

“No, not a conspiracy theory, just a true concern for these two kids who we aren’t allowed to ask any questions about. I have full insight into corporate heirs Jumin and Jihyun’s lives, but the moment I ask a question about Saeyoung or Saeran I am pushed out. There is no reason for that unless there is something going on that the Director is trying to hide,” she argued.

Vanderwood stood there rigidly as she shook her head and walked back over to the door before turning back to him, hands on her temples, “I just don’t get…” she started with a frustrated sigh before she looked back up at him, “How you can say you care for your kids but just sit here and turn a blind eye to an obviously messed up situation.”

“The Director has told me-“ he started before she interrupted again.

“And you believe her? She’s been evasive with answers about the kids since I joined and seems to get more annoyed with each question. Do you just take everything at face value when someone in authority is the one who says it?” She asked and Vanderwood froze in that moment.

“I’m not some sheepdog who just follows orders,” he said through gritted teeth and ___________ walked towards him aggressively.

“Then help me,” she pleaded and he had to be the first to look away, to turn from the passionate gaze that he knew could turn him to ruin.

There was a long and awkward pause as he visibly appeared to be in conflict with himself, opening his mouth a few times only to close it and she shook her head after a second and turned back to the door, going to open it. As she went to turn the handle he appeared beside her in record time, hand pushing the door shut again and his body positioned so that there was not much space between the two of them as he looked at her, eyes full of conflict before he leaned in a bit more, her back now flush against the door.

“What were you even going to do?” He asked.

__________ shrugged and admitted, “I was gonna wait until it was late at night… and then I was gonna break Ito the Director’s office… and try to find their files…” She looked away guiltily, knowing that it was a really stupid plan so she didn’t wince when Vanderwood sighed in response.

“That’s a really stupid plan,” he muttered as he watched her nod and instantly he knew that he was going to have to help her. She wasn’t some hardened criminal, she didn’t have a background in breaking and entering and definitely in accessing information this type of information, and well…

Looking back at her and her wide eyes he backed off and went to his desk, quickly explaining, “All forms are stored on a central network that’s password protected and only known by the Director and other execs. There’s no paper trail here, they scan and then shred anything submitted by hand to protect the people who send their kids here and to ensure the utmost privacy possible.” Gathering his bag, he slung it over his shoulder and grabbed his coat, quickly glancing over at ___________ who looked a little embarrassed at her plan now that she knew how quickly she would have failed. Walking back to her side, he smiled gently at her, continuing, “Meet me at my car in five, you’re going to need help if you want to do this right.”

“What?” She asked, but he just opened the door, ushered her out of his room and turned to the exit, walking away as if nothing had happened.

He sat in his car, fingers nervously drumming on the wheel as he waited for her, wondering if she was going to just go along with him or if she would try to go on with this plan on her own. Leaning his forehead onto the wheel, he closed his eyes as he reckoned with what he was agreeing to, what he was about to expose _________ to. Just as he was about to back out, he heard the passenger door open and the click of the seatbelt as she settled into the space  besides him. Turning the key in the ignition, they drove off in silence as he took her down a familiar path, passing the usual bar before pulling into a parking garage about a block away.

She followed him dutifully as they made their way to the elevator, and when the door closed behind them he turned to her with a bashful look, “Umm, my apartment is pretty…”

“Don’t tell me it’s going to be messy, Stark,” she joked and he smiled a bit in relief before getting nervous again.

“No, if anything “stark” is the best word to describe it,” he said as the door opened and he walked down the hall to his apartment.

Quickly getting his keys out of his bag, he hesitated for a split second before he barreled ahead, opening the door and leading her inside, dropping his bag on his couch as he made his way over to his desk. With a simple press of a button, the desktops all lit up at once and he sat down in his chair, immediately typing away at his keyboard as several different lines of code ran across each screen.

“Umm… Stark?” _________ said behind him, mind racing as she started to piece things together; his secretive nature, his history of not letting people get close to him, the crazy amount of desktops set up and how quickly he seemed to be pulling up surveillance videos, different boxes of code…

“You want to break into a heavily encrypted security system, and then go on some sort of “espionage” mission to find out more about a certain set of targets? Well…” he sighed before turning around to her, deciding that he fully trusted her and would do anything to help her before finishing, “You’re going to need someone with experience in this sort of thing.”

“A hacker?” She asked and he smiled, giving her a small nod.

“Not just any hacker. The best in the business.”

There was a pause, and he gave a light smirk as he could see the wheels turn in her head, as he could see her finally put two and two together- why he was secretive, why he kept everyone at arm’s length. It didn’t last long, but he couldn’t help but deepen his smirk when she finally looked back at him, eyes narrowed in confusion.

“Stark… what the actual fuck.”


	12. Chapter 12

He had smiled at her initial declaration of confusion, but that slowly fell from his face as he watched her look around the room as she processed what he had just dropped on her. Her eyes raced over the desktops, glanced at the crappy couch and coffee table nearby, looked to the kitchen as if she was confirming that this really was an apartment and not some secret lair that was going to transform before her.

“You’re safe here, if you’re wondering,” he said, pointing to one screen that had several different views from the security cameras around the building and in his building.

She shook her head when he addressed her, her voice a bit more steady this time as she looked at him again, “No, it’s not that, I know I’m safe when I’m with you,” she started and Vanderwood could have sworn she had heard the sharp inhale he had taken when she said that but she continued, “I’m just really surprised.” She trailed off as she looked around again and scoffed, “I don’t even think surprised is the right word.”

He grew nervous as she fidgeted with her backpack, wondering if she was going to turn around and leave and so he turned back to the computer, convinced she was going to and that he wouldn’t have been able to handle seeing her walk out the door. As he pulled up the portal that the staff used to communicate through the daycare he heard a thump on the ground and tensed up, assuming she was walking away, but a moment later she was beside him, sitting on her heels. “Got a chair I could borrow?” she asked as she looked at the various displays and he smiled, standing up and pushing his towards her as he walked into the kitchen to grab the spare folding chair in there. For once, she accepted his offer without questioning or pushing back, and he found himself smiling again at the sight of her besides him.

“Before we start this, _______, I want to be fully transparent. Ask me anything you need,” he said as he sat down, turning towards her as he opened a drawer next to him and rummaged around.

“I don’t even know where to start, but um, I guess I want to know what you mean by “Best in the business”,” she said as she leaned on the desk and looked at him.

“Just that,” he said as he pulled out a wireless mouse and started to install it into one of the computers, continuing, “I got into hacking at a young age mainly because I was bored. I told you I didn’t have the greatest role models, but let’s just say that low level crime, you know, breaking and entering buildings or mugging on the streets, wasn’t appealing. I didn’t necessarily like computers, but I knew how to use them and got interested in basic hacking when I was young. Being unsupervised leads to a kid picking up interesting hobbies, after all.”

She nodded slowly as he explained, only pausing when he had trouble inserting the usb that connected the mouse into the port before continuing, “It just kind of… exploded from there. I left home, started taking hacking seriously, and ended up deciding to challenge myself to do bigger and better things- especially if the price was high enough. Finding work wasn’t hard, there was always someone willing to pay to get into someone’s email account, find out someone’s secret past, if you can imagine it I probably did it.”

“For how long?” she interjected.

“Let’s just leave it at years, but I will admit over a decade. I started off young, and by the time I was a young adult I had been recruited into what I thought was just a network of professional hackers. We were given jobs and wired money when they were complete, and the jobs were always high risk - high reward. It was a short period of time in my life, but by far the most impactful.”

“Can you say anything you did?” she asked, curiosity finally sneaking into her voice.

He paused for a moment, wiggling the mouse to ensure it was connected before leaning back in his chair. “I don’t want you to get involved in that-“ he started before she laughed and he looked over in confusion.

“I think I already am, Stark, and more importantly I want to be,” she said with a soft smile, willing him to continue.

“We are about to break into the administrative system of our job, I guess you can know a little more,” he said with a smirk before continuing, “Well, the work I am most proud of was pretty well known, I’ll admit to that. You would have been in university, so you might not have heard of it, but I was the one who released the files on the Korean politician who was engaging in sex trafficking of minors.” He quickly started typing away at his computer, almost instantly finding himself at the directory of all students; past, present, and potentially future, that regular teachers shouldn’t have had access to. 

He didn’t expect her jaw to be slack and eyes shining in admiration when he looked over, causing him to let out a flustered “What?” when she laughed.

“Oh my god, of course I know of that! How could I not? That was a huge scandal- I went to protests demanding that he be tried and then to protests demanding a harsh sentence!” He smiled at the thought of ________, compassionate loving _______ calling for blood in the streets, but blushed when she praised him, “That’s amazing, you saved so many people. They were able to track down everyone who he had moved due to the work the anonymous hacker, my hero for awhile, and that was you.”

Her hero? He looked over at her and he was overwhelmed with the urge to grab her hand and pull her close, but he cleared his throat, saying, “Well, save your praise, I said that was the one I was most proud of… I have done horrible, terrible things in the name of money, of pure self-interest, of-”

He felt _______ shift in her seat and turn it to face him a bit more and he froze the moment she ran a hand though his long messy hair. “Hasn’t everyone?” she asked, and he looked at her confused as she continued to run her hand through his hair and down his neck. Leaning a bit closer in, she asked, “What was this group you joined?”

Letting out a huge breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, he admitted, “I just call them “The Agency”. They had been essentially grooming me since I was young, and I was too naïve, too selfish, to realize it. The assignments escalated over the last few years and moved away from the screen, and that’s when I knew I had to get out, I finally realized that a lot of my actions were leading to innocent people being hurt. Yes, I did some good, but the vast majority are things I can never be absolved of.”

He hadn’t realized that he had leaned into her hand that was resting at the nape of his neck, gently massaging his scalp until he stopped speaking and turned away quickly, looking back at the screen and typing again, trying to parse for anything including the names “Choi”, “Saeran”, and “Saeyoung”.

It was silent as the code ran across the screen and several different pdfs popped up across the various displays before _________ finally spoke, “I don’t think you’re a bad person, Stark. It sounds like you were in a horrible situation, and people do what they can to escape those. What’s important is that you stopped, that you still have your humanity.”

“Well, I didn’t leave immediately. Leaving a network like that isn’t necessarily easy and I had to basically tear it down to guarantee it. You know how I told you once that ‘Vanderwood’ was a nickname? It took me a year to create an identity that seemed plausible, that wasn’t too outlandish and didn’t have any ties back to my old life,” he explained. 

“And you thought Vanderwood was a plausible name?” she said, corners of her mouth turned up slightly, obviously pleased with her joke.

“Who would think to look for a ‘Vanderwood’? But it’s been a few years since then and now I’m here. And before you ask, yes, I am fully accredited and trained in childcare. I wasn’t going to take any job that I wasn’t actually qualified for and put kids at risk.”

“Good to know, but still childcare in Korea doesn’t seem like the usual next step for a famed hacker to go after exposing his agency,” she said lightly as she looked at the screen, finally still and no longer running any script.

“That’s why I chose it,” he admitted and she laughed loudly as he handed her another mouse. “This controls the 3 screens closest to you, you can start going through each one. I ran through the current students and there isn’t any mention of them, so unfortunately we have to review each category one one by one, no other way to do it.”

“Stark,” she said quietly, causing him to turn towards her with a curious look. He felt his heart thump loudly in his chest when she continued, “Thank you for telling me. I’m honored you trust me this much.” 

The two sat quietly at the desk for a moment, both staring at each other in amicable silence. Her eyes were soft, her smile warm, and Vanderwood knew that he was looking at her with the same open and trusting expression. It was the first time he’d felt like this, and he knew it was all due to her.

God, he’d do anything for her.


	13. Chapter 13

He had asked her to go through the files, and she nodded vigorously as she immediately began to review them, looking for any indication that pdf was what they were looking for. Vanderwood began to run through the documents on his screen, and for the next 30 minutes the two sat in silence side by side. Every so often he’d look over and see her deep in thought, quickly reviewing the sheet and jumping to the next, her determination to help the twins apparent in her knit brow and tight lips. How he wanted to lean over and run his hand through her hair like she did his, tell her to calm down, and give her a quick kiss for encouragement, but instead he stood up, picked his cigarettes up from the desk, and walked to the door. 

“I’m going to get us some dinner,” he declared and she looked up and at him, eyes taking a moment to adjust after staring intently at the screen. 

“Want me to join you?” She asked and he just shook his head, shrugging on his coat. 

“You’ll have to forgive me, I have ‘a thing’ about being seen out in public with someone, you can blame it on my past career,” he said with a smirk. 

He expected ________ to just roll her eyes, but he was taken aback by the fleeting look of sadness that crossed her features. She nodded her head, the look quickly disappearing and replaced by a bright smile as she flashed him a thumbs up. “Sounds good, be safe!” She said as she turned back to the computer and resumed clicking through the PDFs. 

Vanderwood left, checking that he had locked the door three times before he walked out of his building and down the street as he tried to figure out what he would bring home for them. Taking a cigarette out of his pack, he lit up and tried to clear his thoughts as he took a moment to stop and let the reality of the situation sink in. 

_________ knew about his past, and she didn’t seemed fazed by it at all.

He couldn’t believe how accepting she had been, how little anything had changed when he had revealed all to her. She was the strongest person he knew, and he didn’t know how he would ever be able to thank her for staying by his side. 

Well, he would start by figuring out what was going on with the kids. 

Back in the apartment, __________ had stopped reviewing and was examining the entire place. He had been right, it was stark; stark, bleak, and lifeless. She had always known that something was ‘up’ with him, but she could have never imagined anything close to this. She took her time to look around his apartment, sneaking a glance into his sparse bedroom and bare kitchen as she thought back on the times they had been together and how his secretive nature now made total sense. She wanted to get to know him, to let him know that none of that mattered to her, that she just cared for him.

There would be time for that later though, right now she had to help Saeyoung and Saeran. They were her number one priority. 

Going back to the desk she flipped through a few more before sighing and dropping her head to her hands. This was out of control, there had to have been an easier way to find their files. “God there’s got to be a better way,” she muttered aloud as she stood up and walked to the center of the apartment, arms wrapped tight around herself as she grabbed at her shoulders. The guilt of not pushing to know more about the relationship the two of those children ate at her, and she had to do anything she could to save them from whatever abuse they were facing. She would do anything to guarantee it. 

With a deep sigh she sat back down in her chair, pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and clicked open the files that Vanderwood had been going through earlier. Might as well stay focused and get some work done before he returned, she reasoned to herself. 

40 minutes after he had left he walked back in the door with a plastic bag in hand and while he had expected to see her still at the desk toiling away he was surprised to find it empty. His eyes immediately darted to where her bag was when he had left and he let out a breath upon noticing it was still there, immediately relieved to see that she hadn’t run away given the chance. Seconds later, her head popped out from the kitchen and he in turn jumped a bit at her sudden appearance, especially since she looked a bit haggard. 

“I swear to god, Stark, you better have brought something good,” she said as she stepped out with a glass of water and he just laughed in response. She shook her head at that, empty hand pointing at the desk with obvious rage. “I spent 30 minutes looking and I can’t find anything. I don’t think I can look through another file labeled “Choi”,” she said, hand now outstretched towards him, eyes deliberately on the bag in his hand. He held it out to her with another laugh before he noticed that she had distinctly dressed down, her hair now up in a messy ponytail and her shirt replaced with one of his own sweaters…

“Why are you wearing my shirt?” He asked, heat flooding his cheeks when he realized that she had to have gone through his dresser to find it. 

She wove a hand dismissively though as she took the bag and walked over to the coffee table, dropping the food on it and sitting on the floor before she she straightened out the containers. “I get that it’s Summer Stark, I just don’t know why you have to keep this place so cold unless it’s for some secret spy reason. I’m sorry to go through your things, I swear it only happened a few minutes ago and cause I was at my wits end.”

He sat down on the floor across from her as he helped arrange the food and hand her a pack of takeout chopsticks, now a little embarrassed at his response to her in his clothes. “You’re right, it is cold. And it’s really for no reason other than I like it,” he said with a shrug.

“I would have sworn it was for some “they can’t sense body heat if I’m freezing too” thing so I didn’t dare mess with the thermostat,” she said as she accepted the chopsticks and snapped them apart, immediately opening one of the containers and smiling at his choice of Chinese. 

He blushed a little at her comment, one that was a little too on-the-nose for him before he took a container of his own and shrugged, “I can turn it off if you’d like, you are right, it is the summer and I shouldn’t be trying to emulate January.” 

Quickly taking a serving of chow mein and dropping it onto her plate, she shook her head, “No, no, I like your sweater anyways.” She didn’t notice the furthering of his blush as she sighed and leaned back against the couch, her eyes closing as her head rested on the seat. 

“I’m going to take it your search came up empty handed?”

She scoffed a little at that question, prompting him to further ask, “Did you come up with anything?”

“The only thing I came up with that we’re never going to come across anything,” she huffed as she looked up from her food. “I knew this place was highly competitive to get into, but I didn’t realize there were this many applicants, and frankly, this many applicants with the name “Choi.”

“Well, it’s a top school for a reason.” Plating his own food he looked up to see her staring blankly above his head, mouth slightly open as the noodles hung from the chopsticks in her hand. He could only laugh at the absurdity of it, causing her to snap out of her trance and immediately address him.

“You’re basically performing a SQL query, right?”

“What?”

“Your code.”

“My code?”

“Yah, it’s essentially an ‘where’ statement right? “Search this folder, look for these fields, if you find ‘X’ pull it” type of thing, correct?”

He faltered, a little surprised at her knowledge before nodding slowly. “It’s a little more complicated than that due to the way these files are stored and some other things but yes, at it’s base that’s what it is.”

She remained in the same pose, eyes burning into him as she said, “So if we changed the search criteria we can pull other files.”

He leaned onto his coffee table, looking at her with incredible interest, a small smile on his lips. “You want to change the search? To what? I’ve pulled every variation of “Saeyoung” “Saeran” or “Choi” possible.”

“You haven’t looked for “Ray” or “Luciel”.”

The two sat in silence as they both stared at each other, Vanderwood’s mind in overdrive as he stared at her with slight shock on his face. ________ remained serious though, her brow furrowed and her lips tight as she continued to look him down. She continued, “That’s always bothered me about them, you know? The fact that they slip between calling themselves by their obvious birth names and these… almost mantles that they have been given. They don’t feel natural, and they always say their name and then forcefully go, “Oh, um, insert-whatever-name-they-meant here.” Hasn’t that bothered you?”

He slowly nodded once before standing up and going over to computer, immediately pulling up the code and editing the criteria. He felt her slide up next to him, leaning into him with interest as she stared at the screen as he replaced the other names with her suggestions. Turning to look at her, their faces close once again, he simply started to run the script and within a few seconds it stopped running, two files popping up. With a sharp intake from both, he clicked into them and they pulled up side by side on two of the screens directly in their line of sight. 

Both were blank aside from two fields, First Name and Phone Number. 

And the numbers were the same. 

Incredulous laughter poured from both of them as they turned to each other and immediately wrapped their arms around the other, ________ shaking excitedly in his grasp as he tightened his grip on her, pulling her close as they continued to laugh. Foreheads pressed against each other, he looked at her, this brave intelligent woman and he felt as if he would nearly burst from the sight of her holding onto him, unbridled joy on her face. 

“You did it, __________. You found them,” he whispered, causing her to look up at him with the same wide smile on her face. He wanted to stop time, to stay there in that moment forever but he felt her pull away from him and he released his grip a little, only for her to reach up and grasp  onto his shirt, pulling him back to her and pressing herself against him, whispering his name before she pressed her lips upon his. He couldn’t believe this was happening, her soft lips upon his, the kiss only deepening as the seconds ticked by.  They stood there, him frozen in place as she continued to pepper his face with kisses before she abruptly stopped and pulled back, eyes wide. 

“Oh, Stark, I’m,” she breathlessly whispered but he didn’t give her a chance to continue, pulling her to him, his arm around her waist and his hand on the back of her neck as he kissed her back. He wasn’t going to let her apologize, he wasn’t going to even give her the chance to think that she had done something wrong. He was going to show her that he felt the same as she, that he wanted her and that he couldn’t hold back now that he knew for certain she felt the same. 

“Don’t. You dare. Apologize,” he said as his lips pressed against hers, to her jaw, to her neck, her hands moving to his back, fingers pressing into him as she tilted her head and sighed as his breath fluttered on her skin. 

“I won’t,” she responded as she kissed his neck in return, feeling him shudder under her touch as he stopped, the two of them now enveloped in the other as they slowed down and rested on the other’s shoulder. 

They fell silent as they listened to the other’s breath, felt the rise and fall of their chests slow down and fall in sync as their grip only tightened. Gone were thoughts of the past, worries of the present, the panic that comes with fixating on the future. It was just his breath on her neck, his arms pulling her in and her smile on his skin, her hands ghosting down his back.  


End file.
